Dr. Anurag Tandon

Swallowing food comes naturally to human beings. But when there is a problem, it is usually called Dysphagia. Esophagus, a muscular tube-like organ located at the back of our throat, usually helps in swallowing food and transferring them to our stomach. When esophagus does not function properly, dysphagia happens. Patients suffering from brain or nerve disorder, seniors and babies might have this problem.

People with dysphagia might witness the following issues:

• Difficulty in swallowing solids and liquids.
• Gaging, choking or coughing usually occurs when trying to swallow.
• Experience pain when trying to swallow and also heartburn.
• Swallowed food might come back up either through mouth or nose.
• A chronic problem might result in weight loss.

Causes:
There are 2 main reasons, why the Esophagus might become dysfunctional.

1. Due to some medical condition the muscles and nerves that help the esophagus work have stopped working.
2. The esophagus is blocked by something.

There can be a number of reasons for both the condition. Here are the reasons why the muscles and nerves might not work.

Certain diseases can create problems with your nervous system, which in turn can affect the esophagus. These diseases are polio, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease.

1. A brain stroke, spinal cord injury or brain injury can also affect swallowing.
2. Polymyositis or Dermatomyositis are immune system problems that can cause swelling or weakness.
3. The muscles of esophagus suddenly squeeze, which is called esophagus spasm.
4. Scleroderma causes the esophagus to become thin and weak.

The esophagus might be blocked because of these reasons:

1. Esophagus might have malignant or non-malignant tumours.
2. Esophagitis is a medical condition when the esophagus is infected, got some allergy or even if a pill got stuck on it.
3. People suffering from reflux diseases often experience the acid that backs up into the esophagus. This can cause an ulcer on it resulting in scars. Scars make Esophagus narrower, making it difficult to swallow.
4. There are small sacs called Diverticula on the esophagus or the throat, often making it difficult to swallow.
5. Lymph nodes, tumours, bone spurs can also obstruct esophagus and create difficulty in swallowing.

An eardrum rupture or perforation is a little gap or tear in your eardrum and the tympanic membrane. The tympanic membrane is a thin tissue that partitions the canal of the middle ear and outer ear. This layer vibrates when sound waves enter your ear. The vibration proceeds through the bones of the center ear. Since this vibration allows you to listen, your hearing can be affected if your eardrum is harmed. A ruptured eardrum is additionally called a perforated eardrum. Permanent hearing loss could be an end result in some cases.

A ruptured eardrum, similar to thunder; can happen all of a sudden. You may feel a sharp pain in your ear, or an ear infection that you've had for some time all of a sudden leaves. In some cases, the person may not feel any signs of the rupture.

Some of the causes for such a perforation are:

1. Infection: Ear infections are a major reason for eardrum rupture, particularly in children. Liquids tend to deposit behind the eardrum in such cases.
2. Exercises: Exercising can bring about pressure changes in the ear and lead to a punctured eardrum. This is known as barotrauma, and takes place when the pressure outside the ear is not the same as the pressure inside the ear. Activities that can bring about barotrauma include scuba diving or flying on plane.
3. Other activities: Wounds can likewise burst your eardrum. Any injury to the ear or side of the head can bring about a crack.

Diagnosis: Your specialist can use a few approaches to find out whether you have a ruptured eardrum:

1. A liquid test in which your specialist tests liquids that might spill from your ear from infection.
2. An otoscope exam in which a specific gadget with a light is used to investigate your ear channel
3. An audiology exam, in which your specialist tests your listening to range and eardrum limit
4. Tympanometry, in which your specialist uses a tympanometer to test the pressure changes in your ear.

Treatment: The treatments are as follows:

• Patching: In the event that your ear does not recuperate by itself, your specialist may fix the eardrum. Fixing includes setting a sedated paper patch over the tear in the film.
• Antibiotics: Anti-toxins can clear up contaminations that may have prompted your eardrum break. They additionally shield you from growing new diseases from the aperture. Your specialist may endorse oral antibiotics or eardrops.
• Surgery: In uncommon cases, surgery might be required to fix the gap in the eardrum. A surgical repair of a punctured eardrum is called tympanoplasty.

A cracked eardrum generally recuperates without any invasive measures. Many patients with cracked eardrums encounter just transitory listening problems. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Swimmer’s ear is a condition, which is characterized by an infection in the outer ear. This infection usually stems from the water that remains in the ear after swimming, forming a moist environment that allows bacteria to grow and procreate. This condition can also develop if you happen to insert your finger or other foreign objects into the ears.

Symptoms

The symptoms of this disorder are usually mild in the beginning, but may worsen if left untreated. In its germinating stage, this condition exhibits symptoms such as itching in the ears and a watery discharge. If the disorder has progressed to an advanced stage, then the symptoms become slightly different. An intense pain on the particular side of the face, swelling in the ear and blockage of the ear canal are some of the common symptoms. In extreme cases, swelling of the lymph nodes and moderate to high fever can be indicative of this condition.

Causes

The causes of swimmer’s ear are bacteria that are found in soil and water. Your ears have a natural defense system against infections; glands in the ear secrete an acidic substance called ‘cerumen’ that kills the bacteria. The ear canal has a downward slope from the middle ear to the outer ear, thus allowing the water to drain out. Swimmer’s ear occurs when these defenses fail to work. This happens when there is excessive moisture in the ear canal, creating an environment for the bacteria to grow. In addition, certain factors such as swimming in dirty water, a narrow ear canal and excessive cleaning of the ear canal can lead to this condition.

Treatment

The aim of the treatment is to prevent the infection from progressing and allow the ear to heal. The first step is to clean the ear canal so that the eardrops can reach the affected area. Once the ear is cleaned, eardrops are administered to get rid of the bacteria. The various medications that are used in the treatment of swimmer’s ear are:

1. Antibiotics: They are used to combat the bacteria that cause the infection.

2. Acidic solutions: It is used to restore the normal environment in the ear.

3. Steroids: These help in reducing the inflammation.

You may also be prescribed pain medications to treat the pain resulting from this condition. Try to avoid swimming till the condition heals completely. Make sure you aren’t inserting any foreign object in the ears as that may aggravate the situation further.

When phone's battery is low to last bar, don't answer the call because radiation is 1000 times stronger.

Warm compress with a soft piece of cloth to eases pain due to middle ear infection.

Do not clean the ears with pins, keys, pens or any sharp instruments.