Cotton swabs or cotton buds, are commonly used in our daily lifestyle. Many people use it for various purposes, such as make-up, bacterial culture, and most commonly for extracting wax and debris from the ear. Even though they are sometimes handy in our busy schedule, they usually cause much more harm than benefits.

How are they misused?
Cotton buds are toothpick like pieces made of wood, plastic, or rolled paper, which have cotton stuck at both ends with a roundish edge. It came into existence during the 1920s for a safe purpose of ear cleaning by Leo Gerstenzang, when he saw his wife cleaning their baby s ear with a toothpick. They are until now used by the general population for ear cleaning, but these hardly remove the outer debris which are stuck near the outer edges. Impressing it inside the ear canal only does further damage, by forcing the inner wax further inside Sometimes extensive force also causes damage to the ear drums.

How does it cause the damage?
Applying a tool like the cotton bud inside the ear with hands usually creates a force that impresses upon the eardrum, also accumulating the surrounding earwax to that area, resulting in impaction of the wax. The force applied most often, if not always, causes a damage to the ear drums, which might cause severe pain, also leading to leakage, causing improper balance, deafness, and certain similar abnormalities.

Alternative measures
Although we are worried about cleaning our ears, it doesn t really require our notice, since our usual showers allow an adequate quantity of water to enter the ears and clean the accumulated debris automatically. The structure, in which our ear canal is designed, is usually naturally assisting in cleaning up the unusual wax around the ear.

If there is an uncontrollable build up of earwax that is not cleaned off normally, you can always consult an ENT or any general physician and get it cleaned under medical surveillance, which is best advised.
Doctors and medical practitioners all around the world have been trying to spread the message of preventing the use of cotton buds for ear cleaning. It is important that the message reach the greater part of the population. Spread it to your family, your closest friends, their friends, and as further, you can reach!

Cotton Buds - Why You Must Not Use Them?

Anorexia is one of the most common eating disorders plaguing a large section of today's youth. Anorexia is one such condition which arises as a psychological ailment and then culminates as serious physical manifestations. One of the most prominent preconditions of anorexia is the severe dissatisfaction with your body. The desire to lose weight constantly reigns supreme in your mind. So much so, that all that you can permit yourself to eat and all that you can't pre-occupies your mind entirely. This extensively impairs your social life and threatens your potential in all other aspects of life. This undermines your health and self-confidence tremendously and inflicts a distorted body image complex upon your psyche.

Under the spell of anorexia, you tend to dread even the slightest weight gain and consequently, it builds a sense of self-disgust in you. It can be an extremely stressful and harmful physical condition, gravely affecting your moments of joy and happiness. Drastic diets, excruciating exercising or using laxatives and diuretics could be some of the most common leeways into anorexia. The terror which looms around your weight gain will disable you from acknowledging how thin you are or for that matter, appreciating the body that you have. This may not only jeopardize your normal body functioning but also subjugate you to acute emotional distress and depression. What is worse is that anorexia works in such insidious ways that in most cases, one doesn't even realize the existence of the problem. The first and foremost step to recovery is to avoid anything and everything that may trigger the condition. Other recourses that one may take have been enlisted below.

Realizing the difference between dieting and anorexia-
Anorexia often indicates deeper problems like depression and insecurities and the eating disorder simply emerges as a consequence of the same. Dieting does not entail an austere denial of food to self or completely throttling all of one's hunger pangs. Fulfilling the basic nutritional needs of your body as against starvation is the first step to recovery.

Seeking advice from well-wishers-
If your loved ones seem perplexed about your health conditions, know all of it is well founded. Learn to acknowledge the furzy body images that afflicts you and take proactive steps towards combating them. Share your problems with your trusted ones and learn to adopt a healthier way of living. Join some productive engagement that will keep your mind off such baseless weight obsession.

Anorexia- How to treat it

Uterine cancer is also known as endometrial cancer. It is a cancer which begins in the lining of the uterus. The uterus is the part of a woman's body where the fetus develops. Uterine cancer is one of those rare cancers in India, which can be diagnosed in its early stages. This is because excessive vaginal bleeding occurs, thus making it a very serious and an apparent symptom. It is also one of the few forms of cancer which can be cured as removing the uterus is often more than enough to cure the patient of uterine cancer.

Here are the causes, diagnosis and treatment of uterine cancer:

Causes

The exact cause of uterine cancer is not yet known, however, there is a theory on what causes uterine cancer. Hormones in a woman's body have been thought to increase the chances of getting uterine cancer. This is because it has long been thought that having high levels of estrogen is the cause of uterine cancer. Increased estrogen thickens the endometrium and thus, increases the likelihood of uterine cancer.

Diagnosis

There are several tests used to diagnose whether you have uterine cancer including:

1. Pelvic exam: This is an examination in which the vagina, bladder, rectum and uterus are scanned for lumps. If they are found, it might be due to uterine cancer.
2. Pap test: A pap test is a special test designed to scan for uterine cancer.
3. Transvaginal ultrasound: A transvaginal ultrasound uses high-intensity sound waves so that pictures of the uterus can be taken.
4. Biopsy: During a biopsy, the doctor will remove tissue from the endometrium and it will then be analyzed for cancerous growths.

Treatment

1. Surgery: This is the most common treatment as it removes the entire uterus and prevents the spreading of the cancer.
2. Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy involves giving drugs which kill cancerous cells. They are given through either an intravenous line or even in pill form.
3. Hormone therapy: This is a therapy in which either progesterone levels are increased or estrogen levels are decreased.
4. Radiation therapy: In this treatment, high energy laser beams are used to destroy cancerous cells.

Uterine Cancer - Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

Causes and Symptoms of Renal Hypertension

High blood pressure is characterized by an increased force that the blood exerts on the blood vessels when it moves through the body. Renal hypertension is a blood pressure disorder where the arteries that carry blood to the kidneys become narrow, as a result of which the blood pressure through these vessels increases.

Causes

It is caused when the arteries that supply blood to the kidney get narrow or get blocked. This can cause the kidney to release specific hormones that signal the body to retain water and sodium. This can put additional pressure on the blood vessels which leads to increased blood pressure. It can also be caused by atherosclerosis which is characterized by hardening of the arteries. Improper development of the arteries can also lead to renal hypertension.

Symptoms

The symptoms of renal hypertension are:

Feeling confused
Blurred vision
Regular headaches
Bleeding from the nose
Gradual decline in kidney function
Possible long-term damage to the kidney
Feeling lethargic and drowsy
Loss of appetite
Dryness in skin
Muscle cramps
Breathing difficulties

Treatments

The diagnostic procedure for this disorder consists of blood, urine, doppler ultrasound and CT angiography or MR angiography tests. Treatments for this disorder usually include medications to ease blood pressure. Preventive measures include modifications in lifestyle such as following a proper diet, limiting smoking, restricting sodium or salt in the diet and following an exercise regimen. Steps should also be taken to reduce stress. Yoga and meditation are highly beneficial to control the condition. Sometimes intervention is needed in the form of PTRA and stenting.

High Blood Pressure and Kidney Disease - Causes and Symptoms!

Menopause is the time in a woman s life at which she cannot procreate anymore. Side effects of pre-menopause, menopause and post menopause, shift incredibly from woman to woman. Nonetheless, normal side effects of menopause incorporate:

Hot flashes
Changes in eating habits
Weakness
Stress
Tiredness
Vaginal dryness and itching
The majority of the side effects connected with menopause really occur during the pre-menopause stage. A few women experience menopause with no complications or disagreeable symptoms. However, others find menopausal side effects crippling and they usually happen during pre-menopause and go on for quite a long time. The symptoms that women experience are basically identified with decreased levels of the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. Side effects change generally due to the many impacts that these hormones have on the female body.

Your period may not be as regularly as it used to be. You may bleed heavier or lighter than usual, and at times experience spotting. Additionally, your period might be shorter or longer in time length. In case that you do miss your period, try to rule out pregnancy. In case you are not pregnant, a missed period could show the beginning of menopause. In case you start spotting after not having your period for twelve continuous months, try to converse with your specialist to discount any genuine conditions, for example, cancer.

Symptoms of untimely menopause are frequently the same as those seen by women experiencing common menopause and may include:

Unpredictable or missed periods
Periods that are heavier or lighter than normal
Hot flashes (a sudden warmth that spreads over the abdominal area)
These symptoms are an indication that the ovaries are delivering less estrogen.
Vaginal dryness (the vagina may likewise get to be distinctly more dry and less adaptable)
Bladder fractiousness and increased of loss of bladder control (incontinence)
Emotional changes (crabbiness, mood swings, mellow stress)
Dry skin, eyes, or mouth
Restlessness
Diminished sex drive
Keeping in mind the symptoms recorded above, in case that you are less than forty years old and experience any of the accompanying conditions, you need to see your specialist to figure out if you are experiencing untimely menopause:

You have experienced chemotherapy or radiation
You or a relative has an immune system issue, for example, hypothyroidism, Graves' infection, or lupus
You have unsuccessfully attempted to wind up distinctly pregnant for over a year
Your mom or sister experienced untimely menopause
To analyze untimely menopause, your specialist will in all likelihood carry out a physical exam and extract blood to diagnose different conditions, for example, pregnancy and thyroid illness. He or she may likewise arrange a test to quantify your estradiol levels. Low levels of estradiol, a type of estrogen, can demonstrate that your ovaries are beginning to fall flat. At the point when estradiol levels are beneath thirty, it might show that you have early menopause.

Menopause - Spot the Early Signs!

Vaginal bleeding is something that most women experience between their periods when they are not due for a menstrual cycle. It is considered as an abnormal occurrence when you bleed before you are expecting your menstrual period, or after you are done with your monthly cycle. It is usually characterised by bouts of spotting where a thick brown reddish discharge may be experienced. Also, this kind of bleeding is considered abnormal if it occurs during pregnancy or menopause.

Here are a few causes of abnormal vaginal bleeding:
1.  Hormones: An imbalance in the hormones like the estrogen and progesterone can lead to abnormal vaginal bleeding. These are the hormones that help in regulation of the monthly menstrual cycles. An imbalance can occur due to side effects caused by birth control pills that may not suit the individual, a contraceptive patch, or even contraceptive implants and injections. Further, an intrauterine device may also be the cause for this kind of bleeding. The hormonal balance can also get affected due to internal ailments like a dysfunctional thyroid gland and ovaries.

2. Pregnancy and Delivery: Some amount of spotting is considered normal in the first trimester of one's pregnancy. Yet, severe bleeding and persistent spotting must be reported to the gynaecologist immediately. Women also bleed for a while after the delivery of the baby, in the postpartum period. This may also happen when an abortion takes place as the uterus may not have come back to its original size and due to remaining foetal tissues within. Complications during the pregnancy like an ectopic pregnancy or a miscarriage can also lead to such kind of bleeding. An ectopic pregnancy is one where the egg gets implanted in the fallopian tube instead of entering and implanting itself in the uterus.

3.  Fibroids: Uterine fibroids are usually considered as non-malignant and non-cancerous growths within the uterus. These are common in many women who have gone through childbirth. These fibroids can also cause some amount of bleeding and spotting.

4. Infections: When there is an infection in the reproductive organs like the ovaries and uterus of the patient, there may be some amount of bleeding. An infection in this area can also cause inflammation, which is one of the primary causes of abnormal bleeding. This can also occur due to a sexually transmitted disease or STD, as well as painful intercourse and sexual abuse which can lead to scarring as well.

5. Cancer: One of the least common causes includes cervical, ovarian and other forms of cancer. 
Stress and diabetes can also cause abnormal vaginal bleeding in rare cases. It is best to see a doctor as soon as such bleeding takes place.

Causes of Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding

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