How Do You Recognise a Stroke?

Strokes occur when blood to the brain gets interrupted or reduced. When this occurs, brain cells begin to die as they don't get enough nutrients and oxygen. Such life-threatening episodes can strike you anytime.

There are certain signs that can help you to clearly recognise an occurrence of stroke:

Face drooping on one side
Weakness or numbness on one side of the body, usually a leg or an arm
You're unable to think or say anything clearly
You experience slurred speech
Difficulty in moving your tongue
You get a sudden and severe headache

What Tests can be Done to Identify the Stroke?

There are certain tests that you can do to identify these warning signs.

To identify facial weakness, the smile test is used wherein you're simply asked to show your teeth to check for any changes in this facial expression - a lopsided smile.

To check for weakness in the body, the arm test is performed in which you raise both your arms to the same height. In case you're unable to do so, you may be experiencing arm weakness, a sign of stroke.

For slurring of speech, you may be asked to repeat sentences such as 'Don't cry over spilt milk' or 'The pen is mightier than the sword'.

Stroke can also be identified through the walk test wherein with the help of another person, you walk across the room to check for changes in your step.

If not treated in time, strokes can cause permanent brain damage. More importantly, unlike heart attacks, anxiety may not always be the cause of your stroke symptoms. That's why, being aware of these symptoms and recognising them on time can help you to quickly seek medical assistance.

How To Recognise a STROKE, Before it's Too Late!

One of the most common problems faced by ageing men is benign prostatic hypertrophy. Prostate is the gland at the base of the urethra near the bladder and when it enlarges it can lead to symptoms, mostly related to urination.

1. Frequent urge to pass urine
2. Prolonged urination
3. Frequent nocturnal visits to the toilet
4. Intermittent urination
5. Difficulty to start urinating
6. Inability to completely empty the bladder
7. Urinary tract infections

There are medications available to manage this, but offer only temporary relief. Many men therefore prefer to have the surgery undergone to manage these bothersome symptoms. However, like any surgery, the risks and benefits need to be considered along with other conditions like age, overall health status, other comorbid conditions, etc.

Surgical removal of the enlarged prostate gland is a more definitive approach to manage these symptoms. In addition to providing a quick cure, it also is used in the following cases:

1. Patients who do not respond to medications
2. Presence of blood in the urine
3. Associated bladder stones
4. Frequent infections of the urinary tract
5. Associated damage to the kidneys

Procedure of Surgery
During the procedure, a tube is passed through the tip of the penis into the urethra towards the bladder neck. Once it is in the desired position, laser is passed through it to deliver energy that acts on the prostate to either completely or partially destroy it. There are two methods by which laser acts on the enlarged prostate and making way for free flow of the urine.

1. Ablation: Excess prostate tissue is melted away by the laser by using photosensitive vaporization of the prostate. This is also known as Greenlight laser therapy or KTP laser vaporization. Alternately, Holmium can be used as the source of laser energy to ablate the prostate tissue.

2. Enucleation: Excess prostate tissue is cut and teased out through the urethra. Holmium laser is used to resect the prostate into smaller pieces, which are then removed out through a resectoscope. Another technique uses a tissue morcellator which grinds the enlarged prostate into smaller pieces to enable easy retrieval.

More men now opt for laser prostate removal as it has the following advantages:

1. Reduced risk of bleeding: This becomes essentially important in patients who are on blood thinners.
2. No hospitalization: This can be done either as an outpatient or with minimal one day stay at the hospital
3. Immediate symptom relief: As compared to medications, the relief is felt almost immediately after the surgery
4. No catheter: With laser surgery, a catheter may be required for less than 24 hours unlike in open surgical cases.

As noted above, as with any surgery, once enlarged prostate symptoms set in, have a detailed discussion with your doctor to identify if you are a suitable candidate for laser surgery.

Know About Laser Prostate Surgery

Many children are affected by constipation; for them, it usually implies pain while passing stool as the stools tend to be hard. In some cases, parents often tend to confuse soiling as diarrhea when it may actually indicate symptoms of impacted constipation (obstruction of faeces). In order to prevent constipation from turning into a chronic problem, make sure your child receives proper treatment at the earliest.

Symptoms of constipation
Constipation in children can be characterized by its symptoms which are:
1. Your child will experience difficulty in passing stools
2. He/she may also experience pain during the process; trace amounts of blood may be present on the nappy.
3. The stool tends to be large in size and hard by nature
4. The child may not have normal bowel habits; he may pass stools less than the normal number of times.
5. Loss of appetite
6. He/she may experience intense pain in the stomach
7. This condition may cause sudden changes in behavior; your child may become irritated or unhappy very easily.
8. He/ she may experience nausea
9. The child may also often soil his/her clothes by passing feces at irregular intervals

Causes of constipation in children
Constipation in children may be caused due to a number of factors, which are:
1. Withholding of stool: In some cases, your child may try to forcefully hold back bowels every time he/she may want to go to the toilet. This may happen due to reasons such as lack of toilet training or not wanting to use toilets at certain places.

2. Diet: A diet devoid of fiber may be the cause behind your child's constipation. Also, not drinking enough water throughout the day may cause the stools to harden, thus causing difficulty while passing them. The fiber content in food adds roughage to the diet and thus, helps in facilitating smooth bowel movements.

3. Psychological problems: Constipation may also be caused due to certain emotional problems and drawbacks, such as certain fears or phobias. An example would be when the child feels the need to go to the toilet at night, but withholds it if he/she has a fear of ghosts. A change in the surroundings such as moving to a new place may also cause bowel problems in your child.

Causes of Constipation in Children

"Nightcaps (Drinking alcohol before bed) give you the worst sleep ever!

Any alcoholic beverage (generally brandy, wine, beer, bourbon etc) consumed before bedtime is known as a nightcap. You may have a nightcap thinking you’ll get better sleep, but did you know that it’s actually responsible for giving you a disrupted sleep pattern? Nightcaps may gradually start interfering with your sleeping quality, causing you to wake up sooner than you want.

How do nightcaps adversely affect your sleeping pattern?

Recently, a study conducted by the University of Melbourne revealed the fact that alcohol before bedtime can give you the worst sleep ever. In this study, several volunteering adults were neurologically monitored in a lab for a few days. Half of them were asked to have nightcaps, while the other half was instructed to drink non-alcoholic beverages. After completing their observation, the researchers reached the conclusion that though alcohol resulted in greater number of sleeping hours, it left the participants feeling dehydrated and less refreshed in the morning due to fragmented sleep. This is because the sleep induced by nightcaps is very shallow, and having nightcaps regularly can result in less restorative sleep. 

The side-effects of nightcaps

Ruining your sleep is not the only ill effect nightcaps have on your health. Nightcaps give rise to other issues too, like snoring and night sweats. Moreover, consuming alcohol before falling asleep also weakens your immune system, damages your memory, speeds up the ageing process, results in nightmares, and causes headaches and insomnia. In fact, regular nightcaps are bad for your heart too. 

4 ways how you can prevent alcohol from affecting your sleep pattern

Nonetheless, if you want to include a bit of alcohol to your dinner, it can be done in the correct way to ensure that it doesn’t affect the quality of your sleep. You can follow these simple rules to minimise the ill effects of nightcaps:

1. Stick to the three hour rule: Ensure that you drink alcohol at least 3 hours prior to sleeping.

2. Limit yourself to a fixed amount: Always consume alcoholic beverages in moderation and try to limit yourself to only one or two drinks every day.

3. Sleep early: Try to avoid staying awake longer than you usually do as this adds up to alcohol’s abilities of disturbing your sleep.

4. Increase your water intake: Prevent your body from getting dehydrated by the effect of alcohol by consuming at least one glass of water for each glass of alcohol. Additionally, don’t forget to sip a few glasses of water after waking up in the morning.

Sleep is important for your overall well being, so try not to compromise with it by consuming nightcaps regularly, especially after knowing about its devastating effects.



Do You Know Nightcaps (Drinking Alcohol Before Bed) Give You the Worst Sleep!

Should You Oil Hair If You Got Dandruff?

You're said to suffer from the problem of dandruff when the skin renewal cycle of your scalp accelerates all of a sudden. This brings about the development of patches of dead skin on your scalp surface and the resultant dry, skin flakes called dandruff.

The causes of this very common problem can be:

- Not shampooing your hair regularly can cause skin cells and oils to build up in the scalp leading to the outbreak of dandruff.

- Having dry skin can also cause dandruff to develop, which are less oily and smaller in nature.

- Even irritated oily skin, more commonly known as seborrheic dermatitis can cause you to suffer from these white skin flakes. The problem can be easily identified by its distinguishing yellow or white flakes over the red greasy skin surface.

- Sensitivity to certain hair care products and the presence of Malassezia (a type of fungus) are other causes that can lead to dandruff problems.

How to keep dandruff problems at bay?

Having poor scalp hygiene as well as the lack of proper scalp conditioning can cause dandruff to occur. Thus, proper conditioning of your scalp is vital for fighting the flakes that form on your head. Oiling your hair is the most effective measure that you can take against this scalp problem. While the ideal time to do this is at night so that you can wash it off the next morning, one should also remember that hair oil shouldn't be left on the hair for over 24 hours. 

Additionally, dry scalp makes it very easy for dandruff to develop as the oil-secreting glands found in the scalp's epidermal layers produce low or no natural oil. Application of oil helps in keeping the scalp nourished as well as enables glands to produce oil. But leaving it on for more than the recommended hours can intensify your dandruff problem and further accelerate the hair fall process.




Should You Oil Hair When You Have Dandruff Problem?

Hearing has a deep impact on your life. It determines the kind of life you are going to lead. It has been found by various studies and surveys that hearing aids drastically improve the quality of life you lead. It is the much needed relief to a life, burdened by the stress and strains of living with hearing impairment. The hearing aids are not just instruments. This is a way to live a life of dignity. According to the Evaluation of the Social and Economic Costs of Hearing Impairment report, hearing loss leads to socio and economic stress in ones  life in major continents like Europe, Australia and the United States.

A research conducted by the National Council on Aging found that over 2,000 people living with hearing impairment or loss experienced positive changes in their respective lives after using hearing aids. They experienced improvements in social, emotional, psychological and physical spheres of life. Furthermore, a US study claims that nine in ten people using hearing aid say that their life has changed for the better after using the aids. It can also be said that hearing aid users lead a better life than non-users of these aids.

How these aids better your life?
Hearing aids gift you a life of expressions and dignity. They can connect you to the rest of the world and empower you to maintain your individualism. You are empowered to make your point in front of others and understand their perspectives too. Here s what a hearing aid can do for you:

Users of hearing aids have a better life as they have improved cognitive functioning. The family members claim that the users of these aids become more interactive. They are lesser of an introvert than the non-users.

It improves the social life of user. He or she can participate in group activities and their family and other ties or relationships go smooth. There is no communication gap.
Hearing aids build up your confidence. You regain your lost dignity and faith on your abilities. Hearing loss kicks you to a life of loneliness, alienation and leaves you with low confidence levels.
It helps you in having better psychological functioning. It keeps you away from psychological problems like depression, personality disorders and over-all absurd behavioural changes.
It improves the understanding in closer or personal relationships. The warmth in a relationship is regained or bettered with effective communication.

Hearing Aids - How Can They Improve Quality of Life?

Don't wait any longer, manage your Home Remedies For Gerd online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Home Remedies For Gerd - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES