Small cuts can be easily treated at your home if the chances of getting infected are low or the injury isn t severe. You can clean and apply bandage to a small injury at your home without the need of visiting a doctor. First aid treatment is always recommended at home in all cases to prevent deterioration of a wound before you can visit a proper medical facility. Here are some of the most widely followed procedures to treat cuts and small wounds at home-
The first step in treating the cut is to stop the bleeding by applying direct pressure on the wound. You may also find many non prescription products available which you can use to stop the flow of blood. If you feel that the situation is getting worse or out of control, then get to a doctor or a medical facility as soon as possible.
The second step in treating a wound is to clean the wound to avoid any possible chances of contracting infections and to remove dirt left in the wound. You can also use tweezers to remove any pieces of external material stuck in the wound. Wash the wound with cool water to avoid dirt being leftover which can cause infections.
Avoid the use of hydrogen peroxide, mercurochrome and rubbing alcohol which can cause a lot of harm to your tissues and also increase the amount of time taken to heal. The chemicals may actually damage tissue more than promote healing or disinfect the area. Instead, keep doctor recommended products which are known to heal scar bruises and small cuts.
Stitches and staples will be required if your doctor decides to close the wound externally. Your doctor will give you instructions to follow and also inform you about the time it would take for the wound to heal. The next procedure would be to remove the stitch after the wound has settled and would again require you to visit your nearby health care provider.
You should always follow the instructions of your doctor and avoid any further injury to your affected part. Even if the injury is serious it is important that first aid is administered properly until you can reach medical help.


Tips To Treat Cuts and Wounds

Anemia is a condition where the red blood cell count is reduced due to deficiencies within the system. This is usually caused by a lack of iron, folate and other related nutrients in the diet. Anemia is a major public health concern in India as over 50 percent of women are known to be anemic. This pushes up the mortality rate of young mothers and even children.

Some symptoms of Iron deficiency anemia
Anemia has a wide range of symptoms which varies from person to person. However there are some generic symptoms which can be noticed in most people. Some of these are
1. Pale appearance of skin - Many people exhibit this symptom where their skin appears to be pale as there is a reduced amount of oxy - hemoglobin in the skin.
2. Physical weakness, light headedness and fatigue - This is a general symptom, which many tend to suffer from and complain about. Fatigue and weakness may come in very quickly even with the slightest effort.
3. Hair loss - Many women may complain about hair loss due to Iron deficiency  anemia.

Some other symptoms are -
a. Breathlessness
b. Constipation
c. Missed or irregular periods
d. Numbness or burning sensations
e. Depression
f. Tinnitus among others

Causes of Iron deficiency anemia
The primary cause of Iron deficiency anemia is the lack of iron in the diet which causes the hemoglobin in the blood to be reduced. Some of the patients may still have Iron deficiencyanemia as they have developed gastrointestinal disorders which prevents the absorption of nutrients like iron within the body.

How to treat Iron deficiency anemia
Diet related anemia can be easily cured or controlled with changing diets. Inclusion of certain foods within the diet can easily reverse the Iron deficiencies. Some of the food items that help with deficiencies are:
1. Fortified cereals
2. Green dark leafy vegetables
3. Poultry items
4. Eggs
5. Meat
You may also require certain iron supplements if you have certain underlying conditions which is causing issues with iron absorption.

How to prevent Iron deficiency anemia
It is important, especially for women to go for regular checkups to your doctor and also a hemoglobin check up. Your doctor or dietician can tell you to include certain foods in your diet that include folate, iron and vitamin B 12 so that the level of hemoglobin in your blood can be maintained at healthy levels.

All About Iron Deficiency - Anemia

One of the most common scenarios that most people are faced with is a constant feeling of tiredness and lethargy even after you have had a full night s sleep. The questions popping in your mind right about now is, why is this happening? Why does the lethargic feeling fail to leave you even after you had a proper 8 hours sleep? Why is your sleep getting into the way of your professional productivity? Though there are a number of different explanations to this constant feeling of cloudiness throughout the day, hence, experts in the field have listed down some of the factors that prove to be the major causes behind this condition. 

Some of these most common and powerful reasons are listed below.

Thyroid: The moment your thyroid levels start soaring, you will automatically find it difficult to keep up with the pace that your day to day life demands. The thyroid gland, which is placed right in front of the throat, is the size of the knot on your tie. This gland produces a hormone. When the activity of the thyroid gland, it starts secreting more and more of the hormones, leading to a condition termed as hyperthyroidism. The same gland when underperforms, it starts holding back the hormone secretion, leading to a condition called hypothyroidism. In both the cases the metabolism of the body slows down, leading to an increased level of tiredness even after proper sleep.
Anaemia: Another leading cause of that nagging feeling of sleepiness and draining energy is Anaemia. Anaemia causes a certain amount of fatigue in an individual. The main cause influencing this situation is the lack of presence of enough red blood cells. The main function of these red blood cells is to transfer oxygen constantly from the long to the cells and tissues. A break in this process leads to you feeling weak and also short of breath.
Diabetes: Diabetes poses a serious threat to the all over functioning of your body. It is termed as the slow killer and constantly works towards undermining the level of energy a normal individual can hold. This adversely affects your day to day life, including your performance at work and also performing your daily chores at home. The glucose in your body serves as a fuel for your daily activities. Since patients with type 2 diabetes cannot use this rising glucose in their blood properly, they end up being more tired than they ought to be.
Other conditions that lead to the same draining feeling and constant tiredness even after lot of sleep are depression, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue, sleep apnea, sleep inertia, periodic limb movement disorder, constant exposure to computer screens, tv screen, monitors, etc. There are a whole bag of other factors that lead to the constant feeling of tiredness that you are feeling. Before the end of the day, you are drained, your productivity drops and you cannot wait to hit the bed, and the same is the condition when you get out of bed. Consulting a general physician will not only help you put a finger on the cause, but also cure it with proper treatment.

Feeling Tired Even After a Lot of Sleep - Did You Know Why?

Skin irritants are everywhere. Even in your house, there is practically no place where there are no skin irritants. Laundry detergents, air fresheners and floor polishes are just a few factors that cause skin itching. The reason why this happens is because products like air fresheners and floor polishes take away essential oils and water from the skin which leads to dryness and irritation.

This type of dry, itchy skin can also progress to skin conditions like eczema. Here are some ways you can stop your skin from becoming dry and itchy:

1. Wear gloves: The ideal thing to do would be to wear soft, thin cotton gloves and wear rubber gloves on top of that. Do not touch a bucket or sponge without it. If you cannot wear soft, thin cotton gloves underneath, at least wear the rubber gloves as this protects your hands from irritants.

2. Take a shower after swimming: Chlorine is one of the principal causes of itchiness in your skin. It is absolutely essential that once you have finished swimming you take a shower with water and a little soap. Even more importantly, use a moisturizer with glycerin in it, as this will keep the moisture trapped inside. Glycerin is particularly good at holding on to moisture.

3. Petroleum jelly: Petroleum jelly has been proven to reduce the chance of dry, itchy skin because it contains only one ingredient. This one ingredient formula is especially great when it is applied to sensitive skin. The reason why one ingredient is better than a moisturizer with many chemicals is because a one ingredient formula is gentler and therefore creates a protective barrier against irritants.

4. Oatmeal bath: For this kind of treatment, grind oatmeal in a blender and then sprinkle it in your bath water. Oatmeal has an anti-inflammatory substance known as Avenanthramide, which decreases itching and redness of the skin.

5. Cleanliness: This is perhaps the most important tip, which can be given. If you do not regularly clean your floors or wash your bed sheets in hot water than you are at a high risk of getting mites and these are one of the most common irritants of your skin.


5 Tips To Subdue Itching Of The Skin

Headache is a pain in any part of the head, including the scalp, upper neck, face (including the eye area).

A primary headache is caused by problems with or overactivity of pain-sensitive structures in your head. A primary headache isn't a symptom of an underlying disease.

What are the causes and triggers?

The three most common causes of a primary headache are:

Cluster headache
Tension-type headache
Migraine
Some primary headaches can be triggered by lifestyle factors, including:

Alcohol, particularly red wine
Certain foods, such as processed meats that contain nitrates
Changes in sleep or lack of sleep
Poor posture
Skipped meals
Stress
Doctors focus on determining whether a headache has another cause. They also check for symptoms suggesting that a headache is caused by a serious disorder. If no cause is identified, they focus on identifying which type of a headache is present.

Tips that could help before seeking consultation:

Try to keep stress in check. Stay organized and prepared to minimize stressful situations. Have some fun, and don't overdo it at work.
Try incorporating meditation or yoga in your daily regime
Apply a heating pad, hot water bottle or warm compress to aching muscles. Or take a hot shower.
Apply an ice pack wrapped in a towel to the neck.
Practice good posture to ease muscle strain. While standing, keep shoulders back and head level, buttocks and abdomen pulled in. While sitting, keep your head straight and thighs parallel to the floor.
When to seek consultation?

In people with headaches, certain characteristics are cause for concern; these people should immediately seek medical consultation:

It occurs more frequently than usual
Are more severe than usual
Worsen or don't improve with appropriate use of over-the-counter drugs
Prevent you from working, sleeping or participating in normal activities
Headaches that cause you distress, and you would like to find treatment options that enable you to control them better
Tenderness at the temple (as when combing hair) or jaw pain when chewing
The presence of cancer or a disorder that weakens the immune system
Use of a drug that suppresses the immune system
Red eyes and halos seen around lights
If you are experiencing certain other symptoms like- headaches that increase in frequency or severity, headaches that begin after age 50, worsening vision, weight loss
A headache can be a symptom of a serious condition, such as a stroke, meningitis or encephalitis. Go to a hospital emergency room or your local emergency number if you have the worst headache of your life, a sudden, severe headache or a headache accompanied by:   

Confusion or trouble understanding speech
Fainting, drowsiness, confusion
High fever, greater than 102 f to 104 f (39 c to 40 c)
Numbness, weakness or paralysis on one side of your body
Stiff neck
Trouble seeing, speaking or walking
Nausea or vomiting (if not clearly related to the flu or a hangover)
If people with none of the above symptoms or characteristics start having headaches that are different from any they have had before or if their usual headaches become unusually severe, they should call their doctor.

Doctors can usually determine the type or cause of headaches based on the medical history, symptoms, and results of a physical examination. Depending on their other symptoms, the doctor may advise taking an analgesic or ask them to come for an evaluation.

Headache - Certain facts one should know

Diarrhea, one of the most common but curable disease. It usually happens due to unhealthy food consumption or for an unpleasant digestive system. In today s lifestyle, there may be hundreds of reasons behind an unpleasant digestive system like consumption of junk food, drinking impurified water etc.

The symptoms of diarrhea can be determined by simply examining the stool. Where a usual and healthy stool is brown, soft and shaped, diarrhea effected stool can be seen in the form of liquid. There are several types of diarrhea and the colour of the stool helps determine the type of it. Though it is a perfectly curable disease but the type  red diarrhea  is not a good sign for your health. In this article, we will learn about the bloody or red diarrhea briefly.

What is Red Diarrhea?
After the consumption of food, it takes some time to get digested and later stored in the intestine. There the digested remaining turns to a solid material which we know as stool. In case of diarrhea, the digested materials come out of the intestine without spending there enough time to form into a solid material. Diarrhea effected stool comes out in liquid form.

As we mentioned earlier, there are several types of diarrhea, Red Diarrhea or also known as bloody diarrhea is one of them. It is not much harmful and can be cured easily with proper medicine and diet. Below we have discussed the major reasons behind red diarrhea.

Strange Reasons behind Red Diarrhea:
There are five major reasons that may cause red diarrhea.

Anal Fissure: A tiny tear in the anus pipe, known as anal fissure can be the cause of your red stool. In such case, the stool won t be fully red coloured but partially red.
Haemorrhoids: In case you don t know about the haemorrhoids, these are puffy blood vessels inside the anus or rectum. It is one of the major reason behind the red diarrhea and rectal bleeding.
Dysentery: diarrhea effected stool with blood is known as dysentery. Parasites named entamoeba histolytica and shigella bacteria are the reason behind it. These parasites may affect your intestine so badly that it can even start bleeding and cause red diarrhea.
Red Coloured Food: Yes, consuming unhygienic red coloured food may cause food poisoning and result red diarrhea. We must be focused on about our daily foods, the healthier the better.
GI (Gastro Intestinal) Bleeding: Gastric cancer and IBD are the two major reasons behind GI bleeding. It may cause high blood release via anus which can turn bloody diarrhea.
How to Get Rid of Red Diarrhea:
There is nothing to scare about red diarrhea. A simple treatment with proper diet can cure your body in few days. Here are the treatments for red diarrhea you can try.

As our body loses huge amount of liquid in diarrhea, one must consume plenty of water or other liquids.
Drinking ORS is must or your body may become weak.
One should not eat unhealthy or spicy food when they are already effected by diarrhea.
In serious cases one must consult to the doctor.
Hope we have successfully provided you all the needed information. If you have any query regarding this please comment below. 

All You Need to Know About Red Diarrhea!

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