Sitting or standing slouched does not only look bad but also has a bad effect on your spine. If not addressed in time, bad posture can become a person s second nature. Over time bad posture can change the natural curvature of your spine and lead to a number of health issues. Here are a few tips that could help:

1. Follow the structure of the chair
We spend a lot of time on office chairs. A well-designed chair will follow ergonomic guidelines to support your body. However, this can help only if you sit on the chair properly. Distribute your weight evenly on the chair. Try to align your body to the center of the chair. To do this try keeping your ears, shoulder, and hips in a straight line. Alternate between sitting at the edge of your seat and against the backrest to relieve your back muscles.

2. Change Positions
Though you can t change your desk every few hours, you can change how you sit. Tiredness is one of the leading causes for slumping and bad posture. Thus, to maintain a good posture try changing positions frequently. Stretch every half hour or so. Getting up from your table and walking over to a colleague to tell them something instead of calling them can give your muscles a break.

3. Use posture-friendly props
Along with ergonomic chairs, there are a number of other ergonomic props that could help maintain good posture. This includes footrests, pillows to support the lower back and lumbar back supports. These props can help ease the strain on the back muscles. Using a chair with an adjustable back is also a good idea. While walking, invest in bags and backpacks that are ergonomically designed to distribute their weight evenly over the entire back.

4. Exercise right
Improved posture is one of the many benefits of regular exercise. Cardiovascular exercises such as walking, running, and swimming help condition the body and maintain a good balance. Exercises that strengthen the back muscles are also great for posture. These exercises support the muscles of the upper body and relieve stress on the back muscles.

5. Wear the right footwear
Wear shoes that fit right and support the arches of your foot. This can help you maintain your balance and improve posture. Avoid wearing high heels for extended periods of time as they could have a negative effect on your center of gravity. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Tips For Improving Posture And Ergonomics!

6 Causes of hair loss you didn t know about and how you can combat this problem

In order to have healthy volume of hair on your head, the rate of hair loss and replacement should be in tandem. With age, your hair growth cycle shows signs of slowing down and factors like age, disease, and hormonal changes among others affect the pace at which an individual hair follicle moves through the 3 phases of the hair cycle. A disruption in your hair cycle can give rise to loss of hair that s rapid and unexpected. Hair loss or alopecia can affect both men and women. 
So what can cause your hair to fall at an alarming rate?

The reasons behind hair loss could be many, but here are 6 major ones: 
1. Lack of protein in your diet
When you exclude protein from your diet, your body starts to conserve the protein that it has by altering the growth cycle of your hair. In such cases, your hair enters into the resting stage, resulting in zero hair growth. 
In India, 9 out of 10 people are said to suffer from low amounts of protein in their diet, with 91% vegetarians reporting protein deficiency.

2. Iron deficiency 
Iron plays a very important role in the transportation of oxygen to the different organs of the body. Lack of iron in your diet (which is the principle reason behind anaemia) can give rise to several health problems including hair loss. Your body attempts to direct oxygen to important organs so as to support their functioning. As a result, your scalp witnesses a low supply of oxygen, which causes hair loss. 


3. Vitamin D-3 deficiency
Deficiency of vitamin D-3 gives rise to a type of hair loss called Telogen Effluvium (TE). This is a temporary hair thinning phenomenon that takes place when the all the hair on your scalp enter the resting phase at the same time, subsequently causing you to shed a large amount of hair later on. 

4. Smoking 
Smoking can also affect the health of your hair, especially the rate at which it falls and the number of strands lost in a day. A research carried out by the Harvard School of Public Health has revealed that smoking can cause a rise in a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
An increase in DHT level prevents new hair cells from growing and causes hair follicles to reduce in size with each hair cycle. As a result, the area on your scalp that gets affected by DHT experiences a lack of hair growth.  

5. Use of testosterone supplements in gym
Intake of testosterone in the form of supplements and injections to build muscle mass can trigger hair loss in men. This takes place when the testosterone in these supplements gets changed into DHT, thereby affecting your hair loss rate and amount. 

6. Past illnesses (dengue, TB and typhoid)
Falling of hair can also be brought on by illnesses such as typhoid, TB and dengue as the hair growth cycle comes to a stop. Hormonal or metabolic stress that is experienced during the course of such diseases may cause hairfall. 

What are the treatments available to cure hair loss?

1. Hair transplant
Hair transplant is a minimally invasive surgical technique that transfers hair follicles taken from other parts of your body to the balding area. Known by the name of Follicular Unit Transplantation, this hair loss treatment can help to bring back the natural appearance of a fuller head of hair. Hair follicles are harvested using two procedures- follicular unit extraction and strip harvesting. Procedure can vary from 4-8 hours or more depending on the case. 

2. Platelet- Rich Plasma (PRP)
Platelet- Rich Plasma (PRP) is another treatment alternative that can reverse hair loss. It s a simple non-surgical procedure that lasts about 60-90 minutes. In this form of hair treatment, the patient s own blood cells, more specifically blood platelets are injected into the scalp. Usually 8 sittings are required with each sitting being 2 weeks apart for better results.

3. Low Level Laser (Light) Therapy (LLLT)
This form of hair therapy utilises light energy of a specific wavelength and threshold to stimulate cellular activity, thereby promoting hair growth. Various controlled clinical tests have revealed its effectiveness in encouraging hair growth in both the genders.  




 6 Shocking Causes of Hair Loss + How To Combat this Problem

Darunak or commonly known as dandruff, is a disorder that affects the scalp. Dandruff causes white, dry flakes of dead skin cells to shed from the scalp. Although dandruff rarely causes baldness and hair loss, the itchiness of this condition may most certainly be a cause of concern. If white flakes persist for a long time, the person may experience symptoms of seborrhea, psoriasis, or eczema. According to Ayurveda, Darunak is a Vatakapha predominant tridoshaj disease. According to Acharya  Sushrut , Madhav  and Yogratnakar , Darunak have symptoms like Itching, White scales like structures, Dryness in the scalp. Along with aforesaid symptoms of Acharya Vagbhatta also considered Hair loss and Numbness of scalp. The Adhisthan (place of origin) of this disease is the keshbhumi (Scalp). 

Over time, proponents of Ayurveda have conducted various researches on this disease, trying to find out an effective solution when it comes to dandruff related problems. 

Prolonged Treatment for Wet or Oily dandruff: 

The scalp skin produces sebum (Kapha), which is an oily substance. This sebum helps in keeping your scalp and hair hydrated. It is a natural process, without which your hair may turn dry and frizzy. However, when this sebum (kapha) is over produced due to certain reasons, you may suffer from problems of the scalp. Over production of sebum (kapha) causes oily scales to appear on the scalp, which may cause severe itching and may also result in infection. Therefore, wet dandruff requires prolonged treatment, whereas it is easier to treat dry dandruff. 

Impurity in the blood: 

According to Ayurvedic system of medicine, dry dandruff is caused because of  Vata Pradhan Kapha dosha . On the other hand, wet dandruff is caused because of  Kapha Pradhan Vata dosha . As per Acharya Videha Pitta and Kapha are involved in causing darunak i.e. Dandruff. The vitiation of Vata and Pitta in the body leads to vitiation of Raktadhatu(blood) thus giving rise to impurities in the blood. This in turn leads to poor nourishment of the scalp. In such cases, detoxification of blood is also required to get rid of dandruff. 

Ayurvedic View

Ayurveda places the problem of dandruff in the category of Shudra Roga, which appears due to an imbalance of all three doshas (Ayurvedic humor). The primary doshas involved are Kapha and Vata.Kapha is an Ayurvedic humor which symbolizes Softness, Stickiness, provides nourishment & lubrication. Vata is dry and rough in nature. In an aggravated state, both doshas as per their predominance cause the production of specific impurities in scalp, which are dry and sticky in nature. These impurities accumulate in the deep tissues of the scalp and contaminate them. Contamination of the deep tissues and aggravated Vata-Kapha Dosha causes itching and flaky patches on the scalp. Due to these factors, the scalp sheds larger than normal amounts of dead epidermal cells, which leads to the problem of dandruff. 

The Ayurvedic line of treatment is to generally pacify Kapha and Vata through herbal medicines, as well as a tailor-made diet and lifestyle plan. Also, special herbs are administered to cleanse the body of accumulated digestive impurities. 

The Ayurvedic system of treatment for wet or oily dandruff, in particular, is briefly mentioned here: 

According to Ayurveda, dandruff could be caused due to prolonged intake of cold water, Excessive usage of foods that taste salty, Chronic Rhinitis,  Irregular Sleeping Habits, Excessive Exposure to UV of sun, Suppressing Natural Urges, Excessive consumption of alcohol, Excessive sweating , Improper maintenance of Hair and using very less or no hair oil for massaging Head and Scalp.
Ayurveda suggests both topical and internal medicines for the treatment of wet or oily dandruff. The topical medicines are intended to manage dandruff and also provide relief from itching and infection, if any. The internal medicines are intended to detox the blood and also improve immunity, nourish the skin and thereby help in improving the quality of hair.
If dandruff is caused due to psoriasis and eczema, then there are exclusive medicines to combat the infection, detox the body and nourish the skin and hair.
Ayurveda suggests that foods like coconut, Indian gooseberry ( Amla), Raisins etc. help in preventing dandruff.
In addition to these, Ayurveda also suggests various home remedies for effective management of both wet and dry dandruff, like washing your hair with decoction prepared with Neem Leaves or Take powder of Mustard seeds and licorice, make them into paste by adding milk to it and leave it on head for 20min and wash later with water.
Taking Panchkarama detoxification procedures like Nasyam, Raktamokshnam, Shirobasti, Abhyanga Swedanam under the guidance of expert can also play very important role in the management of both the types of dandruff. 
Accumulated hair and dandruff scales can be made returned to the healthy scalp from unclean combs and brushes. This may irritate the scalp and causes flare of dandruff again. Combs and brushes are the tools for the care of your hair; they should be properly made and well cared to accomplish this purpose. Neem wood combs can work wonder but they should also be regularly cleaned and changed every six months. It can be easily deduced that wet dandruff can be effectively managed and treated by undergoing treatment under Ayurvedic system of medicines. 
However, you should avail such treatment under the supervision of an experienced doctor specialised in Ayurvedic medical science.

Dandruff (Oily & Wet) and its Management With Ayurveda 

Athlete's foot is a common form of a fungal infection. It most commonly occurs between the toes and is medically known as tinea pedis. The most common cause are sweaty feet which when enclosed inside a tight-fitting shoe for a prolong time leads to this condition. The most common symptom of athlete's foot is a scaly rash which causes itching and burning on your foot. It is a contagious disease and is most commonly spread through towels or clothing of people who have that disease. It can also be spread through the floors which people with athlete's foot walk on. Here is everything you need to know about athlete's foot.

Causes
1. Dirty wet socks inside covered shoes
As mentioned earlier, athlete's foot is a contagious disease which originates from wearing dirty wet socks inside covered shoes. 
2. Infection
You may also get it by coming into contact with an infected person or their towels and/or clothing. Even walking on the same floor as they walk on may cause an infection.

Symptoms
1. Scaly red rash
There is usually a scaly red rash in between the toes when you have athlete's foot.
2. Itching
There will be severe itching throughout the persistence of this disease especially when you first take off your shoes.
3. Blisters and ulcers
This is not a very common symptom of athlete's foot. However, blisters and ulcers do occur on certain types of athlete's foot.
4. Chronic dryness and scaling
This occurs on the soles of the feet and then slowly starts spreading upwards. These symptoms only occur on the type of athlete's foot known as moccasin. Due to this, athlete's foot is often mistaken for eczema and sometimes even dry skin.
5. Spreading to the hand
Athlete's foot always starts in your legs and in some cases spread to your hands as well. The likelihood of athlete's foot spreading to your hand is increased if you scratch or pick at the areas of the foot infected.

Treatment
There are three stages of treatment and these depend on the severity of the infection.
1. Over-the-counter medicines
In the first stage of treatment, the doctor will simply prescribe over-the-counter antifungal ointments, sprays or powders.
2. Prescription medications
In the next stage of treatment, prescription medications need to be applied to your feet.
3. Antifungal pills
If nothing else works, only then should antifungal pills be prescribed.

All About Athlete's Foot

Orange Peel Scrub For Flawless Glowing Skin

An orange is much more than just a refreshing tangy fruit. Orange, rich in Vitamin C, is the best all rounder when it comes to your skin. It’s rich in antioxidants and helps your skin to get younger looking, glowing and healthy. It’s almost a miracle for your skin.

Ground orange peels (and nothing else) just on their own make for the perfect scrub. 

It has these 4 effects on your skin.

1. Scrubbing off Dead Skin: The leathery granular texture & calcium present in it, serves as a gentle but extremely effective scrub, removing layers of dead and decaying skin. 

2. Moisturizing: The natural oil & potassium present in orange peel moisturizes & hydrates your skin simultaneously. 

3. Anti-ageing: The antioxidants neutralize the free radicals keeping wrinkles and sagging cheeks at bay.  Vitamin C & Magnesium present in it make skin glowing, youthful & healthy.

4. Skin Lightening: The orange peel also serves as a natural bleaching agent which helps with skin whitening. 

How to Get the Glow: To get an instant glow, all you need to do is rub frozen orange peel cubes onto your skin.  Continue rubbing till the cubes dissolve onto your skin into a scrub/mask. Splash your face with water to reveal the magic!

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'Consult'.

4 Magical  Effects Orange Peel Has On Your Skin

Stress and fatigue as well as hormonal issues and genetically inherited conditions may leave a mark on our faces, and the eyes in particular. We talk about getting under-eye puffiness, yet we fail to notice that some of us also experience the ill effects of another issue: eyes that look hollow. This issue is particularly evident on more thin faces. As a general rule, ladies who experience them say that they look tired even when they aren't. For some ladies, they start seeing hollows in the under eye area in their mid-30s. As they grow older, the procedure accelerates and gives them a tired and old appearance.

Causes: So what causes a hollow to happen? The fat cushions that line the drop and start to leave the area with an empty look. This creates a less than flattering look which also looks dark and unsightly. Some of the fixes for this problem are as follows:

Filler Fix: Hyaluronic corrosive is successful in filling the affected areas under the eyes, when the tissue is injected with it. The best choice is hyaluronic corrosive filler, for example, Restylane or Juv&eacute;derm Voluma, in combination with the surface medicines for the skin.

Lasting Fix: A lower eyelift or blepharoplasty surgery can expel any free skin under the eyes that gives a hollow look. The fat can be repositioned or added to smooth out depressed skin.

Product Fix: Applying cucumber cuts and items with vitamin C can also help. It can diminish the dark circles that occasionally come with eye hollows. If you find that you have dark circles as well, a solution of hydroquinone can help up under-eye shadows.

Utilize an eye cream with hyaluronic corrosive as one of the fixings.

Use hyaluronic corrosive alone on the influenced region, being exceptionally cautious not to get it in your eyes.

Some of the natural strategies are:

1. Rest: This is the genuine, essential and a viable home solution for hollow eyes. As said before, a depressed eye usually calls for more rest.

2. Almond Oil: Apply almond oil under the eyes a few times each day. Almond oil is rich in Vitamin E, a sustaining vitamin for glowing skin.

3. Raw Potato Juice: Raw potatoes are equally important to heal sore eyes and dark circles. Cut the potatoes and lay it on the affected spot for around 20 minutes.

4. Utilized tea packs: With rich cell reinforcements, utilizing tea packs advances blood flow. The sore and darker skin gets renewed.

5. Cucumber: Any eye based solution without cucumber is incomplete. Get some rest by setting cut cucumber on eyes and wake up with new, restored and sparkling eyes.

The Best Procedure for Doing Away With Under Eye Hollows

Don't wait any longer, manage your Pediatric Dermatologist online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Pediatric Dermatologist - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES