Dr. Anand

In India, especially the urban centers, obesity or even being overweight is becoming a new epidemic. The increases in consumption of fast foods, sedentary lifestyles and stress have increased the incidence of this problem. This has in turn, led to an exponential increase in the cases of diabetes, heart diseases and blood pressure among a host of other problems.

The Ayurvedic approach
Ayurveda is a discipline, which has been practiced over many millennia and contains the collective wisdom to effectively treat problems of obesity or being overweight without side effects. According to Ayurveda, the body is made up of 7 elements or Dhatus:

1. Rasa (Lymph)
2. Rakta (Blood)
3. Maans (Muscle)
4. Meda (Fat)
5. Asthi (Bones)
6. Majja (Nervous system)
7. Shukra (Reproductive System)

However, if you are overweight then it means that due to an imbalance of the ‘Kapha’ dosha, you are accumulating more ‘meda’ or fat. Ayurveda has some very effective actions to prescribe through which you can lose weight very effectively. Some of these tips are mentioned below.

1. Drink a mixture of lemon, honey and water first thing in the morning: Drinking a mix of lemon, honey and water helps to jump start your metabolism and boost your digestive system. Drinking this regularly over a period of a few months and would help reduce your weight very quickly.
2. Meditate for at least 10 minutes a day: This is a very important step as meditation helps relax your mind, muscles and nerves and reduces stress. This enables you to take better decisions throughout the day. It also controls your appetite thus stopping you form binge eating. Meditation and relaxation have also been shown to contribute to weight loss by keeping the metabolism regulated.
3. Do at least 30 minutes of exercise: It is important that you do at least 30 minutes of exercise daily as it would regulate your metabolism and help you to keep burning fat throughout the day. Incorporating light yoga along with a brisk walk is possibly the best way to safely and easily lose weight. Some of the easiest poses to lose weight would be
   • Dhanurasana or Bow pose
   • Setubandhasana or Bridge pose
   • Bhujangasana or Cobra pose
   • Vakrasana or Half spinal Twist pose among many others
4. Consider your diet according to season: According to Ayurveda, you should be careful about what you eat during the various seasons as this will ensure maximum nutrient absorption without the deposition of fat.
5. Eat three meals a day, not more: According to Ayurveda, you should have three meals a day without any snacks in between. Have a heavy breakfast as that tends to set the tone for the day, followed by a comparatively light lunch and an even lighter dinner. This is because your digestive system functions most effectively in the morning, fairly fast at noon, but it is the most sluggish at night.
6. Go to bed early and rise early: This is often propagated as disturbances in the Circadian rhythm or the natural sleep and waking cycles are a big contributor to weight gain. Once this is properly regulated, it could result in weight loss because of your body metabolism being properly regulated.

Drug eruptions are mild to severe skin conditions, where the skin shows some form of drug induced adverse reaction, which may be visible or not visible, but causes discomfort, pain, visible lesions and hives or rashes, etc. on the patient's body or some areas of the skin. This is caused when a drug given, for some reason, causes side effect or extra reaction. Often drug reactions are not serious or fatal except in some cases and can be controlled once the causative drug is withdrawn from administration. 

Types of drug eruptions:
The common drug eruption types are as follows:
Type 1- Urticaria, anaphylaxis, or angio-oedema, which happens due to mediation of IgE and protein such as insulin.
Type 2- Purpura and haemolysis induced by a cytotoxic reaction for the administration of sulfonamides, penicillin, rifampin and cephalosporins.
Type 3- Due to the action of sulfonamides, salicylates, and chlorpromazine a complicated reaction develops resulting in serum sickness, vasculitis and urticaria.
Type 4- These reactions, which are caused by the hypersensitivity of cells and come in a delay cause photoallergic reactions, contact dermatitis, or exanthematous reactions. They are most common types of reactions and occur when the drug is applied topically. 

All of these types show how drugs can cause several different types of reactions. Though eruptions are visible on skin, some discomforts are not visible, and then it takes time for diagnosis. However, diagnosis of the reason behind drug eruptions has to be done as soon as possible to avoid further serious types of reactions like anaphylaxis and angioedema. 

Managing drug eruptions
Management of drug eruptions has to be tactful. Often drugs are taken by patients who have a lot of problems, or sickness, and are not fully fit. Moreover, they take not just one drug, but a bunch of drugs for several problems in the body. Therefore, to understand which drug caused the problem and discontinue that one is often a challenge.  However, it has been seen that discontinuing the affecting drug really helps to get the eruptions eliminated after some time. However, to stop a drug when it is most needed for a certain problem or cure and that too by diagnosing the exact drug takes some time and needs experimentation from the medical caregiver or doctor.

While the drug is still continued, treatment with antihistamines, epinephrine and corticosteroids is done to relieve the patient from the pain and discomfort. If antibiotics are given to the patient, they are stopped to see how the body reacts. To avoid an eruption sometimes premedication can be done to soothe the eruptions in case of patients with a drug eruption history.