Dr. Anil Pichad

Sometimes it is the simplest things that can really amp up your marriage, sleeping naked is one of those simple things you can do to improve your marriage.

First off sleeping naked is quite freeing both physically and psychologically. Baring yourself while you sleep with your spouse builds trust both physically (oxytocin is thanked for this) and psychologically.

The act of sleeping naked is simply sexy and appealing to your partner.

That skin to skin feeling also makes you feel sexy. Skin on skin contact releases the hormone oxytocin which increases the feelings of comfort.

This may put you in the mood for sex. 

Oxytocin has other benefits as well like making you feel more aroused, increasing feelings of trust, lowers heart rate, reduces blood pressure and simply makes you more ready for sexual interaction. 

Of course healthy spouses are happy spouses. Sleeping naked has been scientifically proven to improve health.

Being close to your spouse and cuddling while you sleep is actually beneficial your health.

Your skin can absorb more nutrients.

Your metabolism will also improve because your body will have to work while you sleep to maintain that healthy body temperature of 98.6. 

For both men and women sleeping naked allows their genitals to “air out”. Your genitals are covered up all day, everyday which makes it an ideal environment for the overgrowth of yeast and bacteria which can lead to infection and discomfort. 

Sleep Benefits

More sound sleep equals less overall stress.

Feeling less stressed means less arguing and nit picking in marriages.

You may not believe it, but having a lower body temperature while you sleep actually helps you to rest better.

This is also an ideal environment for the anti-aging hormones to do their job. 

Sexual Benefits

Sleeping naked is also fun. What better way to end the day than to be skin to skin with your spouse.

It is an intimate way to sleep and will make you feel closer to your spouse.

The skin to skin contact is a great way to get that intimate alone time that you cannot get anywhere else.

There have been nights when we go to bed exhausted and yet we are naked. Through out the night we are touching a feeling each other.

As a new day arrives and the house is quiet we find the perfect time to enjoy one another sexual and start our day off on the right track.

Free yourself from wearing clothes at night! Sleeping naked is a empowering situation for both of you!

Swine flu is the commonly used word for H1N1 influenza virus infection.  It is a relatively newer strain of the influenza virus, and is so called because it was originally discovered in people who were in direct contact with pigs. This is not necessarily the case now.  Also, one should note that despite the name, it does not spread by eating pork or bacon or ham.

It is very contagious and spreads from person to person very rapidly.  Swine flu was big news in 2009 when it was declared a pandemic an is in news again as a number of people have succumb to death in 2017 because of it. 

Mechanism of spread:  When a person with flu sneezes or coughs, the virus is released into the air, and when another person breathes the virus, they get the disease.  It could also be through surfaces like doors or restroom handles which were handled by the infected person. The symptoms take about 7 days to develop, and could be quicker and severe in people with weak immune system

Symptoms: Swine flu resembles the regular flu with generic symptoms including:

1. Fever and chills
2. Cough and cold
3. Sore throat
4. Runny nose
5. Generalized fatigue
6. Body aches
7. Vomiting

As it progresses, it can lead to more severe conditions like pneumonia, lung infection, or worsening of asthma.

Testing: A swab test can be done but is not required in all people, except the below

1. Extremely young or old people
2. People with known weakened immunity
3. People with debilitating medical conditions (chronic lung or liver disease, severe diabetes, nervous disorders, etc.)
4. People in nursing or assisted living

Treatment:

• When swine flu is detected, one of the following medications is usually given – osteltavimir, peramivir, or zanamivir.  The results are best when given in the first 48 hours.
• Antibiotics are not effective as it is a viral disease.
• Cold and fever medications are given for symptomatic relief
• Aspirin should be avoided

Prevention: When there is a high incidence of swine flu in your surroundings, do the following:

1. If you are affected, stay indoors to avoid spreading the disease 
2. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water.
3. Contain coughs and sneezes with a kerchief or a tissue so that virus spread is limited
4. Avoid touching the eyes, nose, and mouth with likely infected hands
5. Keep elderly, pregnant, asthmatics, and young people away from the infected person. They have lower immunity and can contract the infection much faster
6. If you are infected, limit your movement in the household and try to stay put in one place
7. Caretaking preferably should be done by one person to limit exposure among all the members in the family. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Pulmonologist.

Being a female is an icon of responsibility in many perspectives. The female figure shares a huge responsibility in the family (husband, kids, other members), society, self, workplace etc. Hence it becomes necessary that a woman must understand what all arrangements she needs to make herself comfortable during days when she is going for laparoscopic surgery and after surgery.

Normally admission in the hospital is done one day before the surgery. During the day of surgery, you can be discharged if your clinical condition is fine. Usually it takes, on an average, 2-3 days of hospital stay. U need to make arrangements at home for 2-3 days when you are absenting from your respective responsibilities.

Before you leave for hospital, for the surgery  

• Make sure that you have informed your absence at a particular place (e.g. workplace, family etc) for specific time period.
• If you have got an insurance then you need to complete your paperwork for claiming benefits of surgery from the same.
• You should stop taking all medicines / diets which has got tendency to thin the blood e.g. vitamins, natural supplements, any analgesics that may contain aspirin (salicylic acid) or any blood thinner medicines. This might increase chances of blood loss during surgery. Usually your surgeon makes notice of all these issues but, if missed by any chance, then you need to inform your surgeon about these.
• You need to arrange someone who can accompany you on the day of the surgery and can help during your stay at hospital. This person must be someone with whom you are comfortable because he/she may have to help you go to the bathroom, get dressed, etc.
• Arrangements of meals should be made beforehand, at your home. You can buy or prepare several meals ahead of time since after surgery you will feel weak and will not have the energy to cook.
• You should do your house cleaning and laundry beforehand.
• You should select comfortable clothing for your convalescence.
• You should select underclothing made up of cotton or satin as these textures will be less irritating to the wound and will allow you to slip out of bed more easily.
• You should prepare the part of the house where you will recuperate after surgery during the first few days. You can arrange clean sheets, pillows, heating pad, analgesics, reading material, remote control, telephone, etc at your selected place so that you can manage things easily.
• You can buy some good magazines, arrange few movies so that you can keep yourself occupied during your convalescence.

What to pack

Mostly the hospitals provide almost every required consumable. Still you should prepare your hospital bag and should go over its contents with the person who will be accompanying you so that he/she knows what you packed and where you placed the items. Make sure to pack the following:

• Health insurance and hospital cards
• Sanitary napkins
• Mobile charger and earphones
• Reading material
• Lip balm
• Lozenges
• Absorbent disposable tissue paper
• Pillow.

Pre-operative appointment with Surgeon

• You should ask all your doubts regarding the laparoscopic surgical procedure e.g. what will be done in surgery? what all I shall expect after surgery? what kind of anaesthesia I shall be receiving?
• You should understand the instructions given to you by your surgeon e.g. when to reach hospital? Where to reach in the hospital? When to stop eating? etc.
• You should ask your surgeon whether he /she will be providing video recording / intra-operative pictures of your laparoscopic surgery.

The day before surgery

• You should not wear any makeup, hairspray, body lotion or deodorant.
• You should remove nail polish, jewellery and contact lenses.
• You should wear loose clothing such a dress without any elastic at the waist.
• You should wear an undergarment so that no fabric rubs against your navel after the procedure. Also, make sure your panties are loose /comfortable or a size larger than you usually wear as they will be more comfortable if your abdomen is swollen.
• You should wear shoes that are easy to slip on and off since it is uncomfortable while bending, after the procedure.
• When you arrive at the hospital, try to relax. Listening to soothing music / watching movie will help.

After the surgery

• Once you are getting discharged from the hospital you should arrange a transport vehicle which has minimum tendency to give bumps when on road.  In the vehicle, recline the seat and place a pillow against your tummy to absorb the shock of bumps in the road.
• Once at home you should avoid sleeping in day time. You should can keep yourself occupied with reading magazine / watching movies / listening to music etc. It is advisable to have a sound sleep in the night.
• Your abdominal muscles are expected to be discomforting for the first few days. You should take medicines as advised.
• Hold a pillow against your stomach if you sneeze or cough to lessen the pain.
• Your shoulders might hurt the first few days. You should sit in a reclining position and place a heating pad on your shoulders. When you feel better, walk a little around the house.
• To get out of bed, roll onto your side and then gradually sit up using your arms for support. After sitting wait for a while and watch for any giddiness. Giddiness is expected for a short while and should vanish in few minutes. Once you are stable then slip your feet out of bed and then stand up. Again, wait for a while and watch for any giddiness. Once you are perfectly fine then you should start walking.
• Feel nauseous is common due to anesthetic medicines given during surgery or the medicines you might be receiving. To combat nausea, you can try few measures: rub a pad moistened with rubbing alcohol under your nose, lie down, breathe through the mouth, suck on a mint candy, eat dry crackers or drink ginger ale.
• Diet should be gradually upgraded. You should start with liquids, initially, and slowly moving up to solid food. The anaesthesia and analgesics can cause severe constipation after surgery. High fiber foods are recommended to prevent constipation (e.g pears, prunes, asparagus, carrots, whole-wheat bread etc).
• You should drink at least 1.5 to 2 litres of water per day. Water intake helps in preventing constipation and helps in eliminating traces of the anaesthesia.
• After the laparoscopic surgery wearing tampons is avoided. As wearing tampon might obscure the significant bleeding.
• After the laparoscopic surgery intercourse / sexual activity is not prohibited till the surgeon recommends.
• You may shower 24 hours after the surgery. Try to avoid contact of water with the stitches as this might delay healing of stitches.
• After few days of surgery, you can apply vitamin E to the incision if the scar looks normal (and there are no signs of infection). Vitamin E promotes healing.
• During recovery if you develop a fever, have difficulty urinating or experience heavy bleeding, contact your surgeon immediately or go to the hospital.
• When you return to work, wear loose clothing and avoid wearing synthetic undergarments, which will irritate your navel.
• It usually takes about a week to recover from a laparoscopy, a common and minimally invasive procedure. The secret to a speedy recovery is to take the necessary time and means to regain your energy.

1. Bael fruit for constipation:

Fast foods that is very low in fiber is the main cause of constipation. Eating a traditional diet rich in fiber will treat constipation very effectively and if combined with home remedies will give the best results. Though fruits like bananas, mangoes helps people who suffer from constipation, bael fruit gives amazing results. Consume bael fruit regularly to get rid of constipation. The fruit is so full of fiber that it treats constipation very quickly. To eat, cut the fruit in half, sprinkle some brown sugar and enjoy it.

2. Bael fruit for ulcerative colitis:

A male about 35 years was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and doctors started steroid medications for him as his condition was worse. However despite taking steroids for weeks he kept having the flare ups. Finally the patient started looking up for alternate therapy and he found bael fruit. After taking bael fruit two times a day for a few weeks he could reduce the dosage and finally he was steroid free. After reading the incident, I was amazed at how a small fruit had saved the patient from so much pain. If you suffer from ulcerative colitis, please give bael fruit a try, as it does not have side effects.

3. Bael fruit for diabetes:

Bael fruit is good even for diabetics because bael fruit keeps the insulin level stable and even many doctors and nutritionist recommend bael fruit for diabetics. Bael fruit has an soothing effect on the stomach due to it's high fiber content. Try to include bael fruit in the diet in moderation. Too much of bael fruit will result in an upset stomach. If you are a dibetic try to eat it as a whole fruit, instead of juicing it.

4. Bael fruit juice for hair and skin:

Bael juice is one of the best way to keep our skin and hair healthy. Try making and drinking bael juice whenever you get fresh bael fruit. When buying bael fruit make sure to buy ripe bael fruit which smells ripe and sweet. To make the juice, first cut open the fruit like you do a coconut and scoop out the flesh. Add little water to the scooped out pulp and let it soak for a few hours. Boil the required jaggery with little water and strain using a fine strainer to remove impurities and let it cool. Now squish the fruit and water mixture with your fingers and then strain using a large holed strainer, as we don't want to strain out all the fiber from the juice. Now in a blender, take the strained juice, prepared jaggery syrup, a pinch of rock salt, a pinch of roasted cumin seed powder and a pinch of fresh black pepper. Blend everything together and serve it chilled in tall glasses. This juice apart from keeping the digestion in good order also keeps the skin and hair healthy and shiny.

5. Bael fruit for diarrhea:

In many parts of india, using bael to cure diarrhea is very common. The best thing about bael fruit is it is used to cure both dysentery and constipation. Treating both constipation and dysentery depends on the ripeness of the fruit. Ripe bael fruit is used to treat constipation and unripe bael fruit is used to treat diarrhea. To make the remedy, cut a unripe fruit and scoop out the pulp of a fruit. Boil a cup of water and add the scooped out unripened pulp and boil for a few minutes till it softens, strain and drink it warm. This decoction is very good for treating diarrhea. When selecting unripened fruit for using it in the remedy, make sure not to pick very unripe fruit.

6. Bael fruit for weight loss:

Bael fruit is also ideal for including in weight loss plan as it keeps the blood sugar stable and keeps us satiated for a long time due it's high fiber content. Try taking a bael fruit as an evening or a mid morning snack and it will tide us over till lunch or dinner without snacking. Bael fruit also is amazing for digestion related problems and keeps the digestion in keep order. The main key to natural weight loss is peak digestion which can be easily attained with these amazing natural foods. But please don't over consume bael fruit, especially if you are just starting to eat it, as you might get an upset stomach.