Swelling can be lessened by placing a cold compress. Take all medication prescribed by doctors.

Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy

In today's world, it is fairly common for women to drink alcohol at various social get togethers. Women are keen to know the effects of social drinking on their pregnancy and have a lot of queries regarding the same during and after the pregnancy is over.

How do we measure alcoholic drinks?

Alcohol is traditionally measured in units.One unit of alcohol is defined as 10 ml of pure ethanol in UK, and as 10 grams (12.7 ml) in Australia.One unit is the amount of alcohol the average adult can process within an hour. This means that if the average adult drinks a drink with one unit of alcohol in it, within an hour there should in theory be no alcohol left in their bloodstream, but that length of time could differ depending on a person's body size.
The alcohol content in drinks is also expressed as a percentage of the whole drink. If you take a look at the label of a bottle of wine or a can of lager you will see either a percentage, followed by the abbreviation 'ABV' which stands for alcohol by volume, or sometimes just the word 'vol'. So, wine that says '13 ABV' on its label contains 13% pure alcohol.

An average bottle of wine is about 12% strength. A bottle of whisky is about 40% strength. The higher the percentage, the more alcohol a drink has in it. A glass of whisky, therefore, is stronger than a glass of wine.

One must keep in mind that drinks poured at home tend to be larger measures than those provided in pubs and restaurants.

The maximum number of units of alcohol permitted for a non-pregnant woman is
14 units per week.

- Light drinking is defined as under 2 units a day.
- Heavy drinking is defined as over 6 units a day.

Binge drinking is having more than 5 units on any single occasions. This may make you drunk faster and more prone to unprotected sex, infections and accidents. Hence binge drinking is considered more harmful.

How does alcohol affect pregnancy?

The alcohol gets absorbed from a woman's stomach into her blood and then passes into the baby's blood through the placenta and umbilical cord. When a woman is drinking regularly during her pregnancy, it can disrupt the baby's normal development in the uterus.

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can affect not only the way the baby develops in the uterus but also her health at birth and the baby's susceptibility to illness in infancy, childhood, adolescence and adult life. Some children born to heavily alcoholic mothers may experience learning difficulties in their adult life.

The effects of drinking alcohol are most harmful for the baby when a woman drinks just before and during early pregnancy. When she cuts down or stops drinking at any point during pregnancy, it can make a positive difference to the baby's growth. However, sometimes once the damage has been done, it cannot be reversed.

If you are a heavy drinker and then stop drinking immediately, you could experience side effects such as withdrawal, delirium and other difficulties. So if you want to stop drinking, you should discuss this first with your doctor, who will be able to help you to manage any side effects.

How much is safe to drink during pregnancy?

We do not have very clear understanding as to the absolute amount which is safe during pregnancy so to avoid even the minimum harm to the baby we recommend not to drink at all during pregnancy or while you are trying for a baby.

If at all you do drink, you should:

1) not drink more than a safe amount, which is defined as not more than one or two units, not more than once or twice per week .

2) avoid binge drinking and becoming drunk.

3) Try and pour your own drinks so you know exactly how much alcohol has gone into your glass.

4) preferably drink at home.

What happens if you are drinking too much during your pregnancy?

If you are drinking more than two units on more than two occasions a week, then there is an increased risk of:

- miscarriage (associated with more than 6 units of alcohol per day)

- stillbirth at any gestational age

- poor growth and development of the baby in the womb. It may even affect the baby's brain development which cannot be reversed later on.

- the baby may be born too early or too small.

- the baby being affected with a physical disability after birth or having learning difficulties.

- the baby may be more susceptible to illness later on in adult life.

After birth a baby born to a heavily alcoholic mother can have various learning difficulties, low academic achievement, behavior or, psychiatric problems and physical disabilities.

What is fetal alcohol syndrome?

It is a very uncommon syndrome and does not occur unless the woman drinks very heavily throughout pregnancy (over 6 units a day). Once the baby is born, there is no cure for fetal alcohol syndrome.A diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome is made only after the baby's birth.

What is fetal alcohol spectrum disorder?

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a milder form of fetal alcohol syndrome and occurs when a woman drinks more than 2 units a day during her pregnancy.

Whether or not a baby is affected mildly or severely with FASD is directly linked to how much and how often a woman drinks during her pregnancy. If drinking is reduced and a woman stays within the recommended limit, some of the potentially damaging effects can be reversed. The baby will begin to grow normally in the womb.

What happens if you or your partner drink too much before you are pregnant?

If you are planning a pregnancy, it is advisable to stay within a safe limit during this time. Alcohol can adversely affect a woman and a man's ability to conceive and may lead to early miscarriage.

However one single episode of binge drinking around the time of conception is not likely to be harmful to a woman or her baby.

heavy drinking is known to be associated with a low sperm count. If your husband is drinking heavily, you may find it more difficult to conceive as a couple.

Even when you are breastfeeding you should ideally not drink at all or keep to less than two units as alcohol is excreted in breast milk and may affect the baby's development.

Pneumonia is a type of lung infection that may affect one or both lungs. In this condition the air sacs, also known as alveoli, fill with pus or fluid, which makes it difficult to breathe. Moreover, pneumonia is known to cause inflammation in the air sacs. This disease may range from mild to life threatening and the severity depends on cause of inflammation, the organism fostering your infection, your age and general health. 

Symptoms:
Most common symptoms associated with the condition are:

1. Chest pain
2. Difficulty in breathing
3. Shaking chills
4. Rapid heartbeat
5. Fever
6. Rapid breathing
7. Dry cough
8. Vomiting
9. Wheezing
10. Nausea 
11. Muscle aches
12. Bluish skin tone due to oxygen deficiency 
13. Blood in sputum that is coughed up mucus
14. Labored breathing
15. Confusion 
16. High fever

Causes: 

1. Bacteria: One of the most common causes of pneumonia is the bacteria named as Streptococcus pneumoniae. This type of pneumonia may occur after you have had flu or a cold or maybe even on its own. Moreover, it may affect only one part of the lung i.e. the lobe and is also known as lobar pneumonia. 
2. Viruses: Viruses are one of the main reasons why children below 5 years of age suffer from pneumonia. Viruses that cause pneumonia may also cause cold or flu. Viral pneumonia is usually mild and may be treated at home itself. However, in some cases, it may be very severe and life-threatening. 
3. Mycoplasmas: Mycoplasma is a type of bacteria that doesn't have a cell wall around the cell membrane which is why they are usually unaffected by most antibiotics which target cell wall synthesis. The symptoms of pneumonia caused by mycoplasmas are mild and the patient does not require bed rest. This type of pneumonia is known as 'Walking Pneumonia'. 
4. Fungi: People with weakened immune systems or chronic health problems usually develop pneumonia due to fungi. You may also develop fungal pneumonia by inhaling large doses of it mainly found in soil or bird droppings.

Wearing heels disturbes the body's centre-of-mass and major part of body weight is transferred on the forefoot. It changes the normal biomechanics of body and leads to problems like: foot pain, knee pain and low back pain. 

People have a tendency to judge individuals by their looks, but never think about the Inner beauty, this reminds me a famous phrase.

“Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover!”

The above line holds deep meaning, it tells that we should not judge people by their looks and we should judge people by their heart and their inner beauty. Well you might have surely heard of phrases like ‘looks are often deceptive’, ‘all that glitters is not gold’ etc., All these phrases give us only one message and that message is don’t judge people by their looks.

However, in today’s world looks is given a lot of importance, it is indeed sad that people fail to see the good heart of people. People fall in love but they fall for looks, not for the heart. People waste a lot of money on beautifying themselves but do not give a penny to the poor.

We go to beauty parlors, saps, fitness centers to look good for others, some people even put on make-up while going to the gym and also while sleeping even if they know that it is not wise and good for the skin to wear make-up 24×7. The beauty industry is flourishing because we are contributing to it.

Instead of spending loads and loads of money in beauty parlors and fitness centers, one can use natural methods to beautify them, and watch their food and go for a walk daily to reduce their weight.

Let me tell you one thing, one fine day you are going to grow old and your beauty is going to fade. The same people who admired your beauty are going to frown on your wrinkled face and hunched body. The only beauty, which lasts, is eternal beauty.

If you are beautiful in your words, gestures, actions, mind and soul people will remember you and look up to you even after you grow old.

They will remember the beauty of your presence, the way you used to laugh without any restrains, the way you used to love, the way you used to take care of people and the way you lived your life without giving a damn on what people think. That is true beauty.

There are two kinds of beauty, inner beauty and outer beauty, but make sure that you choose well and decide how you want to be remembered and for which beauty you want to be remembered?