The world celebrates World Pneumonia Day on 12 November. As we all know, pneumonia, the world's greatest killer of children under five, is a respiratory illness. Pneumonia is a type of lung infection that may affect one or both lungs. In this condition, the air sacs, also known as alveoli, fill with pus or fluid, which makes it difficult to breathe. Moreover, pneumonia is known to cause inflammation in the air sacs. This disease may range from mild to life-threatening and the severity depends on the cause of inflammation, the organism fostering your infection, your age and general health. 

Symptoms:

Most common symptoms associated with the condition are:

Chest pain
Difficulty in breathing
Shaking chills
Rapid heartbeat
Fever
Rapid breathing
Dry cough
Vomiting
Wheezing
Nausea 
Muscle aches
Bluish skin tone due to oxygen deficiency 
Blood in sputum that is coughed up mucus
Labored breathing
Confusion 
High fever
Causes: 

Bacteria: One of the most common causes of pneumonia is the bacteria named as Streptococcus pneumoniae. This type of pneumonia may occur after you have had flu or a cold or maybe even on its own. Moreover, it may affect only one part of the lung i.e. the lobe and is also known as lobar pneumonia. 
Viruses: Viruses are one of the main reasons why children below 5 years of age suffer from pneumonia. Viruses that cause pneumonia may also cause cold or flu. Viral pneumonia is usually mild and may be treated at home itself. However, in some cases, it may be very severe and life-threatening. 
Mycoplasmas: Mycoplasma is a type of bacteria that doesn't have a cell wall around the cell membrane which is why they are usually unaffected by most antibiotics which target cell wall synthesis. The symptoms of pneumonia caused by mycoplasmas are mild and the patient does not require bed rest. This type of pneumonia is known as 'Walking Pneumonia'. 
Fungi: People with weakened immune systems or chronic health problems usually develop pneumonia due to fungi. You may also develop fungal pneumonia by inhaling large doses of it mainly found in soil or bird droppings.
Prevention against Pneumonia

It is important for all of us to prevent ourselves from pneumonia and for that we can follow the below mentioned steps:

Know about the symptoms of pneumonia first: It is difficult to detect or diagnose pneumonia, especially in people over the age of 65. In older patients, the common symptoms such as fever, chills, cough may not be experienced. You should watch out for non-respiratory symptoms like weakness, dizziness, delirium and confusion. It is even more difficult to diagnose pneumonia in people who are suffering from preexisting conditions.
Practice good hygiene: Common respiratory Infections, influenza and cold may cause pneumonia. You should follow hygienic habits. Wash your hands regularly before meals and use hand sanitizers in order to prevent the illness from spreading. You should also maintain proper oral hygiene as several oral infections may also lead to pneumonia. You should also keep away from people who are affected by pneumonia or any other illness like flu, cold and serious diseases such as measles or chicken pox. All these factors may cause pneumonia.
Get vaccinated: It is recommended for people of all ages who may be at a risk of getting pneumonia to get vaccinated and immunized against pneumonia causing virus called pneumococcal pneumonia. This is a one-time vaccine, which prevents and reduces the severity of pneumonia. A booster vaccine after every five years may also be prescribed. Elderly people should be vaccinated against all diseases which cause pneumonia.
Quit smoking: Smoking accounts for being a major cause or risk factor for pneumonia. It increases a person s chance of getting pneumonia as the lungs  ability to defend themselves from the infection is reduced. By quitting smoking, you will be able to prevent pneumonia.
Maintain a good general health: Maintaining an overall good health and following healthy habits will help you in preventing pneumonia. This is because your immune system stays strong and is able to fight efficiently against pneumonia-causing infections. A proper diet with all essential nutrients is also recommended along with regular physical exercise and proper rest.
Severe cases of pneumonia are capable of making you suffer and you may be admitted to a hospital. According to studies, it has been estimated that more than 60% of people over the age of 65 need to be hospitalised because of pneumonia. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a pulmonologist.

World Pneumonia Day - How Best Can You Prevent Yourself?

Before explaining how you can reverse the deficiency, it is important to know how vitamin D plays a pivotal role in your body. Well, this very vitamin is responsible for balancing the hormonal levels and ensuring the perfect functioning of your bones and brain. Also, vitamin D is indispensable for the proper functioning of your central nervous system. This is why people who are deficient display signs of anxiety, depression and, in severe cases, even suffer from bipolar disorder.

Apart from the neurological symptoms that the deficiency of vitamin D indicates, there are some physical symptoms as well that should not be overlooked either:

Arthritis
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Adrenal fatigue
Chronic fatigue
Osteoporosis
Muscle soreness
Autoimmune disease
So, What Are The Causes Of Vitamin D Deficiency?

There are various reasons that lead to vitamin D deficiency. The most common ones are as follows:

It happens when you are a vegan and do not consume any animal-based products, as it is common in foods like fish, egg yolks, beef liver, and fortified milk.
You have limited exposure to sunlight, in such a case your body fails to make required vitamin D.
If you spend a lot of time indoors or live in the northern latitudes, or wear robes, you may become vitamin D deficient.
In case you have dark skin, it reduces your skin s ability to make vitamin D based on your exposure to sunlight. Aged adults having a dark skin tone are more likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency.
How To Overcome Vitamin D Deficiency?

Get More Sun: 20-30 minutes of sunlight is all it takes for our bodies to produce enough Vitamin D to last us for a week, not everybody is able to enjoy the sun. 
Eat More Food Rich In Vitamin D: Just increase your intake of foods that are naturally rich in vitamin D, such as salmon, raw cheese, yogurt and egg yolk. And if you are vegetarian, go for mushrooms as they are also an excellent source of vitamin D.
Vitamin D Supplements: This is the fastest way to boost the vitamin D levels in your bloodstream, but it is advisable to consult a doctor before you begin your daily dose.
In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Vitamin D Deficiency - Symptoms & Ways to Reverse it!

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.


Many myths surround this medical condition:


Myth 1: Women don't suffer from strokes
The opposite is true. It is women who suffer strokes more often than men. This is because women tend to live longer than men whose longevity gets affected by heart disease. Since they live longer than men, they tend to be more vulnerable to strokes.


Myth 2: Strokes aren't easy to recognise
Strokes can be easily diagnosed through the face, arm, Speech and Time test (FAST). If you suffer from slurred speech, facial droop or numbness on one side of the body, you're said to suffer from a stroke.


Myth 3: Strokes are a form of heart attack
Although strokes and heart attacks are closely related, they are not the same. In strokes, blood supply to the brain gets interrupted; on the other hand, in heart attacks, blood supply to the heart gets severely affected.


Myth 4: Only older people suffer from strokes
This isn't true young people can experience strokes as well. About a quarter of stroke cases are reported by people aged 65 and below. More importantly, irrespective of the age group, the warning signs are the same; it is only in response that differences can be found between younger and older people.


Myth 5: Strokes can't be prevented
Through changes in your lifestyle, strokes can easily be prevented. You can reduce your chances of getting a stroke by having a balanced diet, exercising, keeping an optimum body weight and limiting alcohol consumption as well as quitting smoking. Moreover, up to 80% stroke cases can be prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle.


Stroke - Debunking Myths About it 

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) are two commonly used methods of fertility treatment, which increase a couple s chance of becoming pregnant.

The Procedure

IUI- IUI is a procedure during which processed and concentrated motile sperm are inserted directly into a woman s uterus. This procedure is timed according to a woman s ovulation, and may be performed one to two times in the days immediately following the detection of ovulation. After ovulation a woman s egg is picked up by the fallopian tube and waits there for the sperm. Since the IUI procedure deposits higher concentrations of good quality sperm close to where the egg is waiting, the chances that the egg and sperm will find one another are increased.

IVF- IVF is the most successful method of fertility treatment utilized today to help couples to conceive. The basic components of the IVF process include stimulation of the ovaries to produce multiple eggs at a time, removal of the eggs from the ovary (egg retrieval), fertilization of the eggs in the laboratory, and subsequent placement of the resulting embryos into the uterus (embryo transfer). The chance of pregnancy from IVF depends primarily on the age of the woman, the cause of infertility, and factors related to the quality of the IVF laboratory.

Success Rates

IUI Treatment: There is a marked difference between IVF and IUI pregnancy rates. IUI has a success rate between 5% and 20%, but it can even be as low as 1-2 %, depending on the woman s age and fertility levels. The chances of conceiving through IUI is higher if fertility drugs are administered along with the treatment.

IVF Treatment: IVF has a high success rate   between 20% and 35% and it can even go as high as 40%. This may not seem like a lot, but it is very high, considering that an average young and fertile couple has only a 15-20% chance to conceive in a month. It is important to understand what IVF and IUI success rates mean and the factors that affect it before deciding on a fertility treatment. You can also use any reliable online IUI vs IVF comparison tool to determine your approximate success rates with each of these treatments, depending on your age, lifestyle, and medical history.

You should use online sources of information to understand more about fertility problems, how age affects fertility levels, and whether freezing your eggs is a good option for you. However, discuss all these issues with your doctor to ensure that you have the right information and that you have understood it correctly. Fertility specialists provide you with personalized fertility plans based on your health which is why you should always talk to them before you make any decision.

IVF or IUI - Which One Should You Opt for?

Rhinitis is an irritable medical condition where the mucous lining of a person's nose swells up. The term is more of a category and less of a definitive way to describe something specific. Rhinitis involves a host of other conditions that affect the mucous membranes of your nose. If you were not aware, common cold is also a kind of rhinitis. Rhinitis can cause acute touchiness in the inner lining of the nose leading to continuous discharges from one's nose. It can also lead to clogging of your nose or inflammation of the internal tissues. 

Rhinitis can be divided under two main types; allergic and non- allergic rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis, popularly known as hay fever is caused due to contact with allergens that are usually undamaging. However, in case of non- allergic rhinitis the symptoms take after that of the allergic type but no particular causal factor can be identified.

Factors that can increase your propensity to suffer from rhinitis of any kind are:-

Pollen from flowers
Inhaling certain substances can be harmful; smell of certain chemicals is bad too.
Both active as well as passive smoking can be detrimental
High levels of air pollution contributes to the risk
Weather conditions affect your health; a windy yet humid weather can aggravate rhinitis.
Common symptoms of rhinitis can be listed as below:-

A person suffering from this condition might catch a cold all of a sudden.
People, usually little children, might even face high fevers.
Your nose tends to be runny. After the infection subsides, chances of a thick, sticky discharge are more.
Exhaustion is also felt in combination with headaches and teary eyes.
The nature of your nasal discharge tells the doctor if you are suffering from an allergy or from a viral infection.
A few preventive measures to aid you against rhinitis:-

Rhinitis can be communicable and in most cases it is so. Therefore a person should not share his or her utensils and other personal things such as towels or handkerchiefs with any other person.
One should not be in close proximity of another infected person.
Hands are the most common sources of infection. One must wash his or her unclean hands before touching the face.


All about Rhinitis

Giving birth to a child is the most profound form of joy felt by a woman. After getting pregnant, one should discuss with her gynecologist what form of surgery they should go in for. Women have been delivering babies by normal childbirth without any complications since the old times. However, complications might arise if you don't take proper care of your body before the date of delivery. You should be careful and alert at all times so that there are no detrimental effects to you and your child.

Certain tips and guidelines should be followed so that you and your child are safe and secure during a normal delivery.

1. Diet: As soon as you know you are pregnant, you should take care of your diet. Avoid junk food and street food. Stick to a nutritious diet, which contains vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Iron and calcium rich food items should also be consumed for the healthy development of your fetus.

2. Active lifestyle: Try to exercise daily. Include light permissible yoga and also light walks during your pregnancy. You can also join a yoga fitness class for expecting mothers. This can make your body flexible and ready for a normal delivery.

3. Water: Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water every day to keep yourself hydrated during your pregnancy.

4. Stress: Pregnancy can be extremely stressful. This can take a toll on your body and also on your unborn child's health. Also too much stress can make labor a difficult experience, as the pelvic muscles might not expand for the baby to pass through.

5. Avoid smoking and alcohol consumption: Tobacco is very harmful and might lead to birth defects in your child. Alcohol also acts as a poison. Intake of these substances should be avoided completely.

6. Prenatal class: Joining a prenatal class can be very helpful because you get to learn about giving birth and the things, which your body will be required to do during labor. This can come handy during the delivery.

7. Breathing exercise: During labor it is possible that you can experience shortness of breath. Practicing breathing exercises will help you prepare for a normal delivery.

These tips should be known by every expectant mother so that the strenuous process of a normal delivery is eased out.

Tips to Have a Normal Delivery

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