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Diabetic neuropathy is a nerve disorder caused by diabetes. The high blood sugar from diabetes affects the nerves and over time increases a person's risk for nerve damage. Keeping blood sugar levels within the target range recommended by your doctor helps prevent diabetic neuropathy.

Types of Diabetic Neuropathy-
Diabetic neuropathy can be classified as Peripheral, Autonomic, Proximal, or Focal. Each affects different parts of the body in various ways...

Peripheral neuropathy, the most common type of diabetic neuropathy, causes pain or loss of feeling in the toes, feet, legs, and hands.

Autonomic neuropathy affects the nerves that control involuntary body functions such as digestion, bowel and bladder function, sexual response, and perspiration. It can also affect the nerves that serve the heart and control blood pressure, as well as nerves in the lungs and eyes. Autonomic neuropathy can also cause hypoglycemia unawareness, a condition in which people no longer experience the warning symptoms of low blood glucose levels.

Proximal neuropathy causes pain in the thighs, hips, arms, or buttocks and leads to weakness in the legs and hands, resulting in difficulty in walking, standing, picking up objects, buttoning your clothes, etc.

Focal neuropathy results in the sudden weakness of one nerve or a group of nerves, causing muscle weakness or pain. Any nerve in the body can be affected.

How Diabetes Causes Damage to the Nervous System?
There are several factors that are likely to contribute to nerve damage through diabetes...

• high blood glucose, a condition associated with diabetes, causes chemical changes in nerves. These changes impair the nerves' ability to transmit signals. 
• high glucose levels affect many metabolic pathways in the nerves, leading to an accumulation of a sugar called sorbitol and depletion of a substance called myoinositol. These changes are the mechanism that causes nerve damage. Nitric oxide dilates blood vessels. In a person with diabetes, low levels of nitric oxide may lead to constriction of blood vessels supplying the nerve, contributing to nerve damage.
• presence of mechanical injury like carpal tunnel syndrome in a diabetic patient worsens its symptoms and prognosis
• inherited traits increase susceptibility to nerve disease
• lifestyle factors, such as smoking or alcohol use

Symptoms:

1. Numbness, burning sensations, tingling, or pain in the toes, feet, legs, hands, arms, and fingers
2. Either hypersensitivity to touch or insensitivity, even to hot and cold temperatures
3. Weakness in muscles and loss of reflexes
4. Indigestion, nausea, or vomiting
5. Diarrhea or constipation
6. Dizziness or faintness due to a drop in blood pressure after standing or sitting up
7. Problems with urination
8. Changes in gait and balance
9. Injuries that are taking longer to heal and are more prone to infections

Prevent Diabetic Nerve Damage-
Keeping your blood sugar levels in your target range, set with your doctor, may help prevent nerve damage from ever developing. The best way to do this is by checking your blood sugar and adjusting your treatment. It is also important to get to and stay at a healthy weight by exercising and eating healthy foods. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

A cataract is defined as a clouding of lens in the eye where your vision gets blurred. A cataract affects the eyes, when light that passes through the lens prevents a clearly formed image from reaching your retina. The disease is very common and usually develops as your eyes age or due to any injury caused to the tissues that cover your eye's lens.

Types of cataracts:

1. Senile Cataract: This is the commonest of all. It is age-related clouding of the lens. It can affect the near or distance vision and can also cause glare and change in glasses power.
2. Secondary Cataract: It can be developed after surgery for other eye problems like glaucoma and other health conditions such as diabetes.
3. Traumatic Cataract: It can develop many years later after an injury caused to your eye.
4. Congenital Cataract: As the term explains, the disease may be inborn or some children might develop it at a later stage which often affects both eyes. 
5. Radiation Cataract: It can form after you are exposed to some form of radiation.

A cataract surgery involves the extraction or cleaning of the cloudy lens, which is then replaced by a clear artificial lens.

Why does it happen? 

There are lens that lies behind our iris and pupil which act much like a camera lens. It helps concentrate light onto the retina at the back of our eye to form a sharply defined image. Besides, the lens also helps our eyes to adjust focus and allows us to see things clearly both far away and up close. The lens is composed of protein and water where the protein is arranged in a manner to keep the lens clear thereby letting light pass through it. 

However, as we grow old, some of the protein starts to become thick and cloud a small lens area. This is known as a cataract. With the passage of time, it may inflate and cover more of the lens, making it difficult for us to see.

Besides, there are other causes of cataract such as smoking, addiction of alcohol, prolonged sunlight exposure, to name a few. 

When should you opt for a cataract surgery?

Believe it or not, but till date no eye drop or medication has proven to reverse or prevent the formation of a cataract. If a cataract is affecting your nearsightedness or alteration in your prescription, then new prescription eyeglasses may help to better your blurred vision. However, the only treatment for a cataract is the surgical removal of your natural lens. And, most eye doctors recommend this surgery only when the problem becomes severe and starts hampering your day-to-day activities, such as studying or driving at night.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Upper respiratory infection (URI) is a condition, which involves illness, mainly caused by critical infection in the upper respiratory tract. This region includes the pharynx, larynx, nose and sinus. This infection causes diseases, such as tonsillitis (tonsils get inflamed), pharyngitis (causes sore throat) sinusitis (nasal passage becomes inflamed), laryngitis (voice box in your throat gets inflamed) and common cold.

Causes of upper respiratory infection (URI):

1. Both virus and bacteria cause upper respiratory infection (URI). The most common form of virus causing this infection is known as 'rhinovirus.'
2. The immune system of young adults and children are often very vulnerable. Hence, they are more likely to develop upper respiratory tract infection.
3. URI is also contagious and airborne in nature. So if a person comes in contact with an infected person suffering from URI, he/she is likely to develop this infection.
4. Not washing hands before meals can also cause upper respiratory infection because the virus can be transferred easily to the mouth and can travel into your system.
5. If you have any lung problem or heart disease, you are more likely to be susceptible to upper respiratory infection.
6. Those who already have inflamed tonsils can trigger tonsillitis by drinking any cold or spicy beverage like ice-creams or cold milkshakes.
7. Exposure to some flu or cold can cause pharyngitis. It can also be caused by second hand smoking.
8. Birth defects or structural defects in the nasal cavity or nasal polyps can cause sinusitis. Sometimes the inside part of the nose may get swollen due to common cold and block your ducts. This is a common cause for sinusitis.

Symptoms of acute upper respiratory infection:

1. Congestion in the lungs or nasal area.
2. Whooping cough
3. Running nose due to common cold.
4. Feelings of fatigue and lethargy throughout the day.
5. Your body will start aching without engaging in any physical exercise.
6. You can also lose consciousness in severe respiratory tract infections.
7. Difficulty in breathing.
8. Oxygen levels in blood drop down drastically.

Sometimes in worse cases, acute upper respiratory tract infection (URI) can also cause respiratory failure, respiratory arrest and congestive heart failure. Therefore, it is necessary to book an appointment with a doctor as soon as you start experiencing the above symptoms. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Your ovulation cycle is largely ignored until you decide to have a baby. Suddenly, the ovulation cycle becomes more than just a countdown to your next period. When you're trying to get pregnant, you need to identify when you're ovulating to calculate the time available to you to conceive a child. Ovulation occurs mid cycle, every month for most women. It is usually accompanied by a number of symptoms. Some of these are:

Ovulation pain: Some women may experience an abdominal pain when they ovulate. This can range from a mild sensation to a constant pain. The latter is not normal and may be caused by ovarian cysts or scarring by a previous surgery. 

Higher Basal body temperature: Basal body temperature is the lowest temperature recorded in the body when it is at rest. At the time of ovulation, this temperature normally increases as a result of the release of progesterone. To use this method to determine ovulation, you will need a basal thermometer. Take your temperature every morning as soon as you wake up and record it in a chart to spot temperature changes. Basal body temperature can also be used to determine if recent intercourse has resulted in a pregnancy or not. If the basal temperature remains elevated for 18 days after intercourse, it is safe to say that you are pregnant. 

Cervical mucus: The mucus released by the vagina changes according to the stage of the ovulation cycle. This is caused by the fluctuations of hormone levels. At the time of ovulation, cervical mucus is clear, slippery and highly elastic. This can be compared to a raw egg white in colour and consistency. After ovulation, this mucus will turn stickier and denser. 

Cervical position: Your cervix itself will shift at the time of ovulation. Some women can easily feel this change while it may take a little time for others to identify it. The cervix is usually positioned low and feels hard and closed. However, just before ovulation, it will usually open up and soften a little as well as pull back. Cervical position also needs to be regularly charted to determine when the position changes. 

Spotting: Spotting mid cycle is not always a sign of an early period. It may also signal ovulation. This is usually a result of the sudden drop in estrogen that precedes ovulation. Since the progesterone levels are not high at this time, the lining of the uterus may leak a little blood. 

Other signs of ovulation include:

1. Breast tenderness
2. Heightened sense of smell, taste etc
3. Increased libido
4. Increased energy levels and
5. Water retention
    

An inflammation resulting in the formation of a thin layer inside the eyelids or the white part of the eyeball is known as pink eye or conjunctivitis. This condition turns the eye ball into pinkish color, hence the name. Based on the severity of the infection, either one or both eyes get affected.

What are the common symptoms?

1. Medium to heavy swelling of the eye
2. Eye crusting after sleep
3. A burning sensation
4. Irritation, itching or blurred vision
5. Redness and increased sensitivity of the eye

Different kinds of conjunctivitis:

1. Allergic Conjunctivitis: This is the type of conjunctivitis that results from eye irritants such as animal dander, dust particles and pollen. This is not infectious in nature. Treatment prescribed by ophthalmologist includes eye drops and non-steroidal medications. It is advised to keep the eye moist till it gets cured.
2. Viral Conjunctivitis: As the name suggests, this kind of conjunctivitis is caused due to a viral attack. Sadly though, antibiotics don’t work and there is no particular medication for this type of conjunctivitis. Like common cold, viral conjunctivitis runs its course in a span of 1-2 weeks. Since virus is contagious, it is necessary to ensure that the microbes don’t spread. Some common prevention measures are listed below:
   • Eye cosmetics should be abandoned till the conjunctivitis is cured
   • Hands should be frequently cleaned
   • Hand and eyes should not be in contact
   • Frequent change of pillow covers, towels and clothes
   • Swimming should be completely avoided
   • Spectacles in place of lens should be used until advised otherwise by a medical practitioner
3. Bacterial Conjunctivitis: This kind of conjunctivitis is caused by the streptococcal bacteria and has potential to cause real damage if proper medication is not taken on time. This is highly contagious. Prescription often includes antibiotic drop and ointments. The medication is prescribed for 2-3 weeks depending on the level of bacterial spread in the eye. It is very essential to complete the full course of medication to avoid recurrence. Prevention measures as stated above should be strictly followed.
4. Chemical conjunctivitis: Eye irritants such as chlorine cause this conjunctivitis. Frequent swimmers often get affected by this type of eye infection. Topical steroids are prescribed to cure this kind of infection. Immediate medical attention is required to avoid lasting injury to the eye.

How to prevent pink eye?
While prevention is the best way to refrain from conjunctivitis, some basic hygiene checks are very important. Here is a list of must do’s:

1. Do not share personal items such as combs, towels and toiletries.
2. Stay away from a conjunctivitis infected patient
3. Using of goggles while swimming
4. Frequent usage of hand sanitizer and hand wash

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!