The presence of blood in urine is known as Haematuria. It is categorized under 2 types:

    Macroscopic haematuria, which means the patient has seen blood.
    Microscopic dipstick haematuria, which means blood is identified by urine microscopy or by dipstick testing either in association with other urological symptoms (symptomatic microscopic haematuria) or during a routine medical examination. It has been variably defined as 3 or more , 5 or more or 10 or more Red Blood Cells (RBCs) per high - power field.

Urological and other Causes of Hematuria

    Cancer: Bladder, Kidney and Prostate Cancer
    Stones: Kidney, Ureteric
    Bladder Infections: Bacterial tuberculosis, infective urethritis Inflammation
    Interstitial Cystitis Trauma : Kidney, bladder, urethra, pelvic fracture causing urethral rupture
    Renal cystic disease: (e.g. medullary sponge kidney)
    Other urological causes: Benign prostatic hyperplasia, vascular malformations
    Other medical causes of haematuria: anticoagulation therapy (e.g. asprin, anti platelet therapy) Nephrological Causes: more likely in children and young adults, proteinuria; red blood cell casts.
    Urological investigations: Urine culture, urine cytology, cystoscopy, renal ultrasonography and intravenous Urography and CT Urography.

Management of haematuria depends on the cause as determined by the urologist.

Causes and Treatment for Hematuria

People have a common perception that most injuries, medical conditions only affect those who spend several hours working outdoors. But what if we tell you that people who stay indoors- such as homemakers - are also susceptible to numerous health problems?

There s a saying:  Home is where the heart is.  But for countless homemakers, home is the place where  hurt  is! Scores of Indian homemakers encounter various injuries every year while engaging in household chores like cleaning and washing. The most common ones are-

Sprain- if you re a neat freak, you wouldn t mind spending half of your day cleaning the entire house. Here s a small tip- go slow if your cleaning duties include shifting heavy appliances and furniture from one place to another. There s a high chance that you may end up with a sprain injury. Sprains occur when you accidentally twist your ligaments. Another major cause of sprain injuries is a sudden fall. If you re mopping the floor or cleaning the bathroom, there s a fair chance that you may slip or lose balance. One must be cautious when working with water.
Back injuries- These are the most common types of injuries at home. Bending, lifting a heavy bucket or an abrupt movement, can strain your back muscles or ligaments leading to back injury. Many times the injury can result in a persistent, sharp stabbing pain, and hinder your usual routine.
Joint compression- Homemakers spend a considerable amount of time standing in the kitchen. As tiring as it is, standing for prolonged periods puts pressure on your joints- knee joint, hip joint as well as those in the feet and the ankle. This leads to wear and tear of the synovial joints, eventually causing them to tear. In due course of time, you will find it difficult to move around and walk even a meagre distance.
Prevention-
Starting to get worked up? Don t be. These problems can easily be prevented if you follow these steps-

Avoid overstretching, bending and twisting
Avoid lifting heavy weights. If possible, use a waist belt to keep away from traumatic injuries.
Keep your body weight in check. Mild exercises can help you with that.
Maintain a healthy diet- calcium intake can help your bones get stronger.
Use muscle braces to keep your joints protected.
Treatment-
The most preferred and effective choice of treatment for curing muscle injuries and joint inflammation is physiotherapy. Physiotherapy uses manual therapy, mechanical force and exercise therapy to promote mobility.

The most common method of treating such injuries is the RICE technique.  RICE  stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Keep the injured part at rest. Put an ice bag on the injured portion. Compress the injured area. Elevate the wound/injury for faster relief.
Anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen and Aspirin are prescribed to reduce inflammation and swelling. Painkillers can offer you instant relief from pain.
Physiotherapy treatment can effectively cure you of such injuries, that too in a short span of time. If you follow the treatment guidelines, recovery will take about 2-4 weeks. 

Common Problems Faced By Homemakers Who Stay Indoors - How Physiotherapy Can Be Of Help?

Catching a cold once in a while is nothing to worry about, but needing to take sick leave every few weeks is a sign of low immunity. Immunity can be defined as our ability to fight infections. By eating right and making a few lifestyle changes, you can easily strengthen your immune system and lower your risk of catching infections. On that note, here are 10 ways to strengthen your immune system.

Eat a balanced meal: Along with fruits and vegetables, your body also requires carbohydrates and proteins. Eating a balanced diet helps keep your blood sugar levels stable and allows your body to prioritize building your immune system over generating energy to perform normal tasks.
Drink plenty of water: When you re ill, fluids help transport nutrients to the infected area and flush out toxins from the same. Hence, it is important to stay hydrated in order to recover faster from an illness and to build your immune system.
Probiotics: 80% of your immune system is located in the gut. Probiotics help the body produce more healthy gut bacteria. Thus, probiotics directly boost the immune system.
A good night s sleep: Ideally, a person should get 8 to 10 hours of sleep on a daily basis. While we are asleep, the body produces cytokines ad antibodies that are vital to a strong immune system. Depriving the body of this sleep can thus make us more susceptible to infections.
Get some sun: While we put a lot of effort into protecting ourselves from the harmful UV rays of the sun, sunlight is also a rich source of vitamin D. Vitamin D helps protect us from a number of serious illnesses. Apart from sunlight we can also get vitamin D by adding cod liver oil, egg yolks and fatty fish to our diet.
Quit sugar: Sugar is an immunosuppressant and hence cutting out added sugar from your diet can have a drastic effect on your immunity. Added sugar refers only to refined sugar in cubed, crystal or powdered form and not the natural sweetners in fruits.
Exercise: Regular exercise improves blood circulation and boosts the production of antibodies. A healthy circulatory system combined with antibodies enables your body to fight infections in any part of your body.
Avoid tobacco and alcohol: Alcohol impairs the immune system and tobacco smoke weakens the body s basic immune system. This holds true for both first hand and second hand smoke.
Reduce stress: Stress increases the production of a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol suppresses the immune system and thus makes us more susceptible to illnesses.
Prevent germs from spreading: Lastly, make simple things like washing your hands before eating and after coming home or using the toilet a habit. This prevents germs from spreading and entering our bodies.

10 Ways You Can Strengthen Your Immune System

Varicose veins are a condition marked by enlarged or gnarled veins. This typically affects the veins in the feet and legs. In most cases, varicose veins are a mere cosmetic concern but in some cases, it can be quite uncomfortable and painful. If left untreated, it can also lead to further complications.

Varicose veins may be caused by a lack of elasticity in the veins causing blood to pool in them and flow back-wards. This blood is deoxygenated and hence the veins appear blue. Women have a higher risk of suffering from varicose veins as compared to men. This risk also increases with age and weight. Pregnancy can also cause varicose veins. The most common symptoms of this condition are:

visible veins just under the surface of the skin
veins that appear blue and gnarled
a dull ache in the legs
throbbing or burning sensation in the calves
pain in the legs that worsens after standing or sitting in the same position for a long time
itching around the veins
bleeding veins
inflammation of the skin or ulcers around the ankles
red or blue spider veins
Varicose veins can be treated with simple home remedies. Keeping the legs raised or wearing compression stockings can relieve the pain associated with varicose veins and prevent the condition from worsening. Exercise can also help improve blood circulation. If these home remedies are not effective, the patient may need to consult a doctor.

Varicose veins cannot be completely prevented. However, an individual can reduce the risk of suffering from this condition. Regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight is crucial to do this as being overweight can increase the pressure on the legs and hence aggravate varicose veins. Women with a family history of varicose veins should also avoid wearing high heels and tight stockings.

Complications caused by varicose veins are rare. However, some people may experience bleeding on the surface of the skin. There are chances that the veins deep inside the muscle may get twisted which may lead to the swelling of the calf muscles. Varicose veins may also cause painful ulcers around the ankles and is a result of the buildup of fluid around the ankles.

All the complication must be reported to the doctor at the earliest to prevent the condition from worsening.

Varicose Veins - The Most Common Symptoms Your Should Know!

The first thing you must know about dengue is that it is a mosquito-borne tropical disease, the root cause of which is the dengue virus. This virus is usually transmitted to a person when an infected Aedes mosquito bites them. There are as many as four serotypes of the dengue virus; they are DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4.

It must be noted that all four of them can potentially cause dengue fever. The term "dengue fever" is frequently used to distinguish clinically milder dengue virus infections. In more severe cases, however, the term "dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)" is used.

One of the common complications of dengue fever is a decrease in the number of platelets in the blood, which is called thrombocytopenia. The decrease in platelet count in dengue fever is believed to be due to the destruction of platelets by the dengue virus. The virus infects and damages the bone marrow, where platelets are produced, leading to a decrease in their production. Sometimes the immune system may also produce antibodies that attack and destroy platelets.

Who Can Get Affected By Dengue and How Badly?
Dengue is a disease that can indiscriminately affect people belonging to all genders as well as age groups. The disease is also referred to as "break-bone fever," mainly because of the excruciating pain it may cause. It is prevalent all over the tropical and subtropical areas of the world, with about 50 to 100 million cases of dengue fever in more than 100 countries.

Among the common symptoms of dengue are fever, severe headache, pain in the eyes and joints, muscle and bone pain, rash, and fatigue. It usually gets better on its own, but occasionally can be fatal.

It is a viral disease transmitted by day-biting mosquitoes and is a major public health problem in many tropical and subtropical countries, with India, Brazil, and the Philippines being the top three countries.

Anyone who lives in or travels to the areas where dengue is present is at risk of being infected. However, certain groups of people may be more vulnerable to severe illness, including:

Children
Older adults
People with weakened immune systems
People with underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease
Dengue, in most cases, does not cause complications and has a self-limiting course with full recovery in two to seven days. However, it can also lead to the patient's demise in some cases.

What Does Dengue Fever Actually Do to Your Platelets?
As we already know, it is a mosquito-borne disease that may cause blood clots and impair blood coagulation. These blood clots can usually form in the patient's capillaries. However, at times, they can also form outside the blood vessels and block blood circulation to different parts of the body. These blood clots can cause the patient to feel faint and develop different grave complications.

This serious medical condition is caused by a virus that invades and damages the body's platelets, which are cell fragments that help blood clot. Dengue, or break-bone fever, causes the platelet count to decrease because the virus that causes platelet damage mainly affects the blood cells of the sufferer.

The platelet count in dengue fever is also one of the useful diagnostic tools and is usually carried out in cases in which the patient exhibits bleeding tendencies or has had recent trauma.

You should also note that the virus responsible for dengue fever is also responsible for another viral disease called yellow fever. All people affected by the dengue virus have similar symptoms and causes, but different amounts of blood damage. Blood damage is one of the causes of death in dengue fever.

A sudden dip in the platelet count is one of the primary reasons for blood loss in dengue; hence it has been given the name hemorrhagic fever. Moreover, platelets are a type of cell that allows the blood to clot when wounded and also helps in reducing bleeding.

When we get infected with a virus, the body goes into self-defense mode and starts to attack the virus. It is when the body releases white blood cells to look for the virus and destroy it. The platelets are responsible for clotting the blood, and when the platelet count decreases, then you have problems with the clotting of blood.

This is usually the reason that people get seriously injured and enfeebled by dengue fever. A severe infection can lead to bleeding from the mouth and nose, as well as internal hemorrhage.

What Else Should You Keep In Mind?
During a season of dengue fever, people usually try to increase their platelet counts so that they have a better chance of fighting the infection. To do this, it is important to increase your consumption of foods rich in omega-3, vitamins, iron, and other minerals. These foods can help fight antibodies and also increase platelet counts in dengue.

You can also add kale and other leafy greens such as mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, and spinach to your meals. The thing about these leafy greens is that they are low in calories and high in vitamins A, C, and K, which are essential to combating the dengue virus. Also, the pigments present in these leafy greens are known to have great anti-inflammatory effects.

Conclusion
Dengue is a disease caused by a virus. This virus is most commonly spread by mosquitoes. If you have dengue fever, you will probably develop symptoms seven to 14 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. If you have dengue hemorrhagic fever, you will probably develop symptoms three to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.

A person with dengue can have any combination of the following symptoms: mild fever, headache, joint or muscle pain, pain behind the eyes, rash, and mild bleeding. Symptoms can last for a few days to a few weeks.

Most people recover completely. But in some cases, the disease becomes life-threatening. For example, dengue hemorrhagic fever can be life-threatening. Furthermore, we hope you find this article informative and helpful. Please don't hesitate to share your views with us!

Why Platelet Count Decreases in Dengue Fever?

Everyone can suffer from pain in the stomach, at one time or the other and we usually ignore it. But when the pain is sudden and severe abdominal pain then it is termed as acute pain and this should not be ignored.

Often the following can be expected with acute pain:

Acute abdomen pain is usually synonymous with rapid onset of the symptoms which might indicate life threatening intra-abdominal pathology.
Pain is just a feature and not necessary that it is present at all times. An acute abdomen which is pain free usually occurs in children and women who are in their third trimester of pregnancy.
The differential diagnosis is difficult and wide especially in primary care. This is because the different organs within their peritoneal cavity might have different areas of referred pains.
Abdominal pain usually happens to be in the top three symptoms when patients present their state in the emergency and accident departments. But only few of these have acute abdominal pain.
Management of the abdominal pain should be the primary focus and an assessment should be done to reach the differential diagnosis so that care can be given accordingly.
The clinical evaluation regarding abdomen pain can change quickly. Any diagnosis which had been made can change and both doctor and patient should not be hesitant and seek other treatment.
Conditions which might cause acute abdomen pain are:

Meckel's diverticulitis or Acute appendicitis
Acute cholecystitis
Ectopic pregnancy
Acute pancreatitis.
Peptic ulcer disease
Diverticulitis.
Intestinal obstruction, including paralytic ileus (adynamic obstruction)
Pelvic inflammatory disease.
Gastrointestinal (GI) haemorrhage
Gastroenteritis.
Acute intestinal ischaemia/infarction or vasculitis.
Acute urinary retention
Renal colic or renal tract pain
Testicular torsion
Abdominal aortic aneurysm
Non surgical diseases like pericarditis, sickle cell crisis, acute intermittent porphyria, HIV-associated lymphadenopathy, bowel disease, typhoid, opiate withdrawal, enteritis, pneumonia, myocardial infarction and hepatitis.
Rare causes might include thromboemboli, phytobezoar, and phytobezoar
Diagnosis of abdominal pains:

Patients can be ordered to get their blood tests done. Also if need be then imaging can also be referred to them.
Following tests can be done to rule out the condition causing the abdominal pain:
Blood Tests: these include FBC, LFTs, glucose, amylase, clotting, calcium and arterial blood gas for pancreatitis
Crossmatch or group and save
Pregnancy test in women of childbearing age
Blood cultures
Peritoneal lavage in case of an abdominal trauma
Urine analysis
X ray of the abdomen, ultrasound, CT scan
ECG and cardiac enzymes
Laparoscopy should be a routine procedure

Don't Ignore the Acute Abdominal Pain

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