The most powerful and amazing organ in our body is the brain. It differs from many other organs of our body not only by its shape, but also by its special type of cell called neurons. When these cells gets affected or dead it can never be reverted or regenerated which is the most exclusive nature found only in brain cells. The cells in other parts of our body has the capacity to regenerate (can be replaced or new one can be grown or produced), but brain cells are exception. Hence any damage to the brain, injury or trauma is really a crucial thing to be considered with utmost care.

Brain surgeries really need skill, proper training, confidence and intelligence to perform this highly complicated and risky surgery.

Purpose:
Brain surgeries are performed to:

Remove the brain tissues that are grown abnormally
Aneurysm is clipped to prevent flow of blood cliff off an aneurysm
Biopsy purpose or to remove the tumour
Make a nerve free
Drain the abnormal blood or clot collection or to drain any excessive fluid collection caused by infection.
To implant artificial electronic device as a treatment for conditions like Parkinson's disease
Types:

Biopsy: A part of brain tissue is removed for the brain or whole tumour is removed.
Craniotomy: The skull bone is opened to remove tumour, an aneurysm and drain fluid or blood from infection.
Minimally invasive endonasal endoscopic surgery: Endoscopic devices are inserted through the nose to remove the lesions or tumour.
Minimally invasive neuroendoscopy: Similar to endonasal surgery but small incision is made.
Risks:

Anaesthesia risks like breathing difficulty, allergic reaction to medications, excessive bleeding or clots and infection.
Risk related to the brain surgeries are seizures, coma, swelling of brain, infection to brain or meanings, surgical wound infection that intrudes to the brain structures, abnormal clot formation and bleeding.
General risks include muscle weakness, disturbances in memory, speech, vision, coordination, balance and other functions that are controlled by the brain.

Brain Surgery - Know The Purpose Behind It!

Cerebral ischaemia or brain ischemia is a medical condition that restricts the flow of blood to the brain, resulting in an unmet metabolic demand. This leads to limited oxygen supply in the brain, which could result in death of brain tissues, cerebral infarction or an ischemic stroke. Thus, a cardiorespiratory arrest, a stroke, and irreversible brain damage are few possible consequences of cerebral ischaemia.

People with compressed blood vessels, low blood pressure, congenital heart defects or sickle cell anaemia have a high risk of developing cerebral ischaemia, since compressed blood vessels or very low pressure can lead to restricted blood flow. Also, sickle-shaped cells have a greater tendency to clot, causing obstructed blood flow.

Patients with cerebral ischaemia experience a host of symptoms, such as weakness in the body, problems in coordination and movement, vision and speech impairment and unconsciousness.

Cerebral congestion, on the other hand, refers to excessive quantity of blood in the brain vessels, causing pressure on the cerebral substance. Cerebral congestion is of two types. It is termed as active when there is too much arterial blood flow and passive when there is undue quantity of venous blood in the veins of the brain. Both conditions cause symptoms, such as severe headache, insomnia, irritability and unconsciousness. The patient gets little sleep and is disturbed, often followed by dreams. When awake, the patient s mental activity in the brain is very high.

Homeopathy is now a well-established school of medicine backed with years of research and practice. Gone are the days when homeopathy was considered no more than an extension of herbal home remedies. Homeopathic laboratories around the world produce large number of medicines covering almost all ailments. The benefits of homeopathic treatment are now well established due to its holistic approach and minimal side effects. Homeopathy is undoubtedly a ray of hope for patients with cerebral ischaemia and cerebral congestion, as it delivers a comprehensive treatment plan designed to target the signs and symptoms of the disease and address its non-occurrence.

The medications deal with mild to severe symptoms, including inflammation of the brain, headache, vomiting, insomnia, stroke/convulsions and seizures. The stramonium drug, for example, deals with seizures. Belladonna is an effective remedy for sharp shooting headaches, a common symptom of cerebral congestion. Ferrum is believed to be a valuable remedy for brain ischaemia. Few drugs deal with the symptoms of both ischaemia and congestion nux is a suitable drug for the treatment of ischaemia as well as for passive cerebral congestion. Similarly, phosphorus can be used to treat brain ischaemia and congestion. Zincum metallicum is a highly recommended drug for chronic cases of ischaemia.

The treatment is comprehensive and long term and shows substantive results. Regular follow-ups and consultation with a homeopath specialist is the key to an effective treatment.

Best Homeopathy Treatment of Cerebral Ischaemia & Congestion

Brain injury can happen as a result of trauma, infection or degeneration with old age. Whatever be the reason, injury on the head can result into brain dysfunction and should be given required medical diagnosis. In these cases, occupational therapy can be a major help.

It helps in improving health, providing rehabilitation and educational service to enable people to participate in things they are interested in and manage their daily activities. Occupational therapy can be used to manage issues relating to memory, organization and attention span, behavior and emotion control, safety issues and issues which contribute to society. Depending on expectations, different therapies can be sought. Read on to know a little more about how occupational therapy can help adults with brain injury. 

The person's skills and what they want to do are to be assessed and accordingly a daily plan that can be easily followed is made. Where possible, use technology like smart phone or voice recorder to manage this plan. The therapist can train the person to use these tools, review progress and make changes as necessary.
The therapist will also teach ways to do things on their own like cooking and small shopping, so they become independent and are therefore less frustrated.
Patients in need of anger management, the therapist will help them to identify what induces anger or frustration and support in managing those before it turns into actual anger. This will help the person relax and be more positive.
This could also be done using small roleplays, wherein they are taught ways to respond and be more relaxed and calm.
If you are keen on participating in social events or volunteering opportunities, then the therapist can recommend options for you based on your areas of interest. The therapist can also work with the identified organization (school, NGO, or workplace) to inform them of the kind of support required by you. Work behavior and social behavior can be taught to help the affected person succeed.
If the affected person happens to be alone, then they need to be assessed for ability to judge (e.g., self-awareness, impulsivity, and reliability), even while doing daily activities like bathing and dressing. Driving is permissible only if cleared for it by the therapist.
The home needs to be assessed for safety. You may have to make some safety modifications, for instance replace power tools with hand tools. Else, shared housing options, where independence and having someone close by is possible, should be evaluated.
So, with a brain injury, not all is lost. Occupational Therapy can definitely help restore function to a large extent, so use it to reap maximum benefits.

Adults With Brain Injury - Know How Occupational Therapy Can Help You!

Breast cancer, is a type of cancer, which is common to women, where cancer cells grow on the breasts or the female mammary gland. It starts out with the formation of a small lump in your breast and can spread out to your other organs very rapidly. It generally affects women above forty years of age. Breast cancer can be classified into two types. They can either start forming on the inner linings of your milk ducts ( known as Ductal carcinoma) or in the lobules which supply milk (known as Lobular carcinoma).

There are many causes responsible for breast cancer they are mentioned below: 

Obesity or post-menopausal obesity (Learn more about Heart Diseases Post Menopause)
Exposure to frequent radiation (X-ray)
Consumption of alcohol
Being taller than average
Start of periods at an early age
Late menopause
Hormone replacement therapy
Consumption of birth control pills
The most common symptoms of breast cancer are as follows: 

Formation of a lump in your breast
Swelling or shrinking of your breast
Change of size, shape and color of your nipple
Blood or milk discharge from the nipple
Breast pain
Itching sensation
Appearance of rashes (Learn more about to maintain the skin health)
Breast cancer if not diagnosed and treated at an early stage may turn out to be fatal. Ayurveda offers promising cures for breast cancer.

A few of the Ayurvedic remedies are mentioned below: 

Include foods, which are well supplied with vitamin D in your diet. Researches show that women with less amount of vitamin D in their bodies are more likely to develop breast cancer. Consider including foods like eggs, orange juice, dairy products and fish like salmon in your diet.
Drink more of green tea as it has anti cancer properties.
Exercises like walking, yoga, meditation and certain breast exercises can help you to relax the pain sensation, reduce stress and also get cured.
Incorporate bitter gourd in your diet. Researches show that bitter gourd can kill those cancer cells, which cause breast cancer.
Ayurvedic herbs like Ashwagandha, tulsi, curcumin have certain properties that can destroy cancer cells.
Since, breast cancer has less survival rates, it is absolutely essential for you to visit an Ayurvedic practitioner if you wish to get cured through Ayurvedic treatment.

Treating Breast Cancer With Ayurveda

Any kind of bleeding from the uterus, which is not normal, can be termed as abnormal uterine bleeding. This refers to bleeding between periods or before periods, bleeding after having sex, spotting, abnormally heavy bleeding or bleeding after attaining menopause. If you are suffering from any of these issues, you need to check with the doctor. 

Diagnosis
It is very important to diagnose abnormal uterine bleeding. There are several examinations and tests that have to be carried out, depending on age. For irregular spotting, a pregnancy test can be undertaken in case you think you could be pregnant. If your uterine bleeding is very heavy, a test has to be performed to check blood count. This is done to observe whether you have anemia. An ultrasound test of the pelvic region will also be advised by your doctor to know the cause of the bleeding. Several hormonal tests and thyroid function tests are required as well.

Other diagnostic tests include:

Sonohysterography: When fluid is placed within the uterus and ultrasound images of the uterus are taken. An image of the pelvic organs is obtained.
Hysteroscopy: It can be carried out when a device is inserted via the vagina and enables the doctor to examine the uterus internally.
Magnetic resonance imaging: This is also used to get images of the organs.
Endometrial biopsy:  It involves insertion of a catheter to take out a tissue which is microscopically observed. 
Treatment
There are different types of treatment for abnormal uterine bleeding depending upon factors such as the cause of bleeding and the age of the patient.

Medications: Several medicines are used to treat abnormal uterine bleeding. Sometimes hormonal medicines are used. Birth control pills are also used to improve the regularity of periods. Hormonal infections, vaginal creams and an IUD device releasing hormone can be used. Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are also used to control bleeding. Several antibiotics may also be prescribed.
Surgery: In some cases of abnormal uterine bleeding, a woman has to undergo a surgery for the removal of growth such as polyps and fibroids, which results in bleeding. While some fibroids can be removed via hysteroscopy, others require different techniques for treatment.
Endometrial ablation: It can be undertaken to control bleeding. This mode of treatment aims at reducing the bleeding permanently. In case all treatment methods fail, hysterectomy has to be carried out. This is a serious surgery and after it is performed, a woman does not have periods anymore and will not be able to conceive a child.
Abnormal uterine bleeding is a serious health condition, which may lead to severe complications. Immediate diagnosis and appropriate treatment methods should be undertaken in case of any abnormal uterine bleeding.

Abnormal Uterine Bleeding - 3 Ways to Treat it!

It is very common for women to have heavy and painful periods or have a feeling of fullness in the lower abdomen. Although, it may not sound very alarming these could be the symptoms of uterine fibroids. These are the most common types of benign tumours found in women. The fibroids are basically some tissues and muscle cells that grow within the uterus, outside the uterus, or along the wall of the uterus. The fibroids are usually benign and asymptomatic and do not require any treatment unless they cause problems. 

Know the causes 

Though the exact cause of fibroid formation is not known, it is believed that the female hormones estrogen and progesterone have a role to play in their formation. Fibroids are formed only when a woman is producing these hormones and they are not seen in women in non-reproductive age i.e. before starting of menses or after stoppage of menses (menopause). If fibroids are persisting even after menopause or especially if increasing in size then it is an alarming sign. Such a fibroid needs to be taken care of immediately. 

What are the symptoms? 

Fibroids often remain quiet for long periods of time. They cause nonspecific symptoms in the pelvis and abdomen including: 

Fullness in the abdomen 
Low back pain 
Irregular menstruation 
Cramping with menstruation 
Painful sex 
Increased urgency to urinate 
Anemia, leading to tiredness and weakness 
Infertility Diagnosing the fibroids 
When these symptoms are recurrent, it is good to confirm the diagnosis. This can happen with a pelvic exam followed by ultrasound scanning to confirm the size and location of the fibroids. A blood test also may be done to confirm anemia, which is common due to heavy periods.

Treatment Options 

Management of fibroids can range from doing nothing to periodic monitoring to surgical removal. 

If pain and heavy bleeding are the only symptoms, then pain killers like ibuprofen should suffice for symptomatic relief. Anemia, if severe, may require iron supplementation. 
Embolization is an option which shrinks the fibroid, at the same time preserving the uterus. The blood flow to the fibroid is cut off, thereby preventing its further growth. It takes about 1 to 3 hours and requires some bed rest after the procedure. There could be some pelvic pain and vaginal bleeding, which will gradually subside. The fibroids may grow back, but the benefits of keeping the uterus are definitely there. This is suitable in case of single fibroid with specific blood supply. 
The next surgical option is myomectomy, where the portion of the uterus which contains the fibroid alone is removed. This is done in women who still wish to get pregnant and in women who would like to retain the uterus. This can also be achieved laparoscopically( key hole surgery). In such cases, fibroids are cut into small pieces and then removed from the body. This procedure should be done by a doctor specialised in advanced gynecological endoscopy as all this cutting should be done in a bag to avoid any spillage of cells inside the abdominal cavity. This procedure is known as Laparoscopic Myomectomy with In-bag Moecellation. 
In women who have crossed their pregnancy phase, hysterectomy or complete removal of the uterus is advised. In these women, the bleeding and pain may not have subsided even after years of treatment with hormones. The growing fibroids could be pressing on the adjacent organs, causing pressure. This is the only definitive treatment and should be done in women have completed their family and don t desire to be pregnant. 
Myomectomy and hysterectomy may be done laparoscopically or with an open method depending on the overall health, the size and location of the fibroids in the uterus.

Uterine Fibroid - How Removing Them Will Help You?

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