Dr. Vikas Gorhe

Lungs are very important organs of your body as they play a pivotal role in respiration. Lung cancer refers to the gradual development of cancerous cells in the lungs.

Many common symptoms can help you to identify lung cancer. They are stated below:

• Persistent cough
• Change in your voice
• Pain in the chest region
• Breathing problem
• Fatigue
• Loss of weight and appetite
• Sometimes a person may also cough up blood
• Cough accompanied by a wheezing sound

Lung cancer is very fatal and has less chances of getting cured. However, ayurveda offers effective and natural remedies for treating lung cancer. They are mentioned as follows:

1. Practice breathing exercises regularly: Breathing exercises can help you to deal with the problem of lung cancer in an effective manner.
2. Quit smoking and avoid drinking alcohol: This is absolutely essential for treating lung cancer. Both smoking and consuming alcohol can cause severe damage to your lungs.
3. Practice meditation. According to ayurveda, meditation is known to have great healing powers for any health problem. This can help you to cope up with cancer as well.
4. Avoid junk foods and carbonated drinks: Consuming these foods frequently can worsen your condition.
5. Massage therapy: Sometimes massage therapy can work wonders in ayurveda. Massaging certain essential oils can be very helpful.
6. Aromatherapy: Aromatherapy can also prove to be effective in treating lung cancer. It is a procedure in which essential oils are not only used for massaging your body but also for inhaling.
7. Ayurvedic herbs: There are many ayurvedic medicines and herbs also which can treat lung cancer efficiently.

Since lung cancer involves very less survival rate, it is of utmost importance that you go the doctor immediately once you start noticing any of the above mentioned symptoms.

Pulmonary edema is a disorder wherein fluid accumulates in the lungs leading to lack of oxygen in the body. The usual cause of pulmonary edema is congestive heart failure (the muscles of the heart are unable to pump blood). In this disorder, the heart has to work extra hard to pump blood, so this adds extra pressure on the blood vessels that are present in the lungs. In a bid to relieve this added pressure, fluid is released into the lungs by the blood vessels.

The function of your lungs is to take in oxygen from the air and circulate it in the bloodstream. However, fluid accumulation in the lungs impairs the ability to supply oxygen in the blood. As the oxygen does not reach the blood, the body gets deprived of oxygen.

Causes
The most frequent cause of pulmonary edema is congestive heart failure. Some other causes of pulmonary edema are pneumonia, failure of the kidney, damage to the lungs, high blood pressure and sepsis of the blood (infection). Apart from these internal medical causes, certain external factors such as exposure to high altitudes, drug overdose and inhalation of toxic substances can also cause pulmonary edema.

Symptoms
The symptoms of pulmonary edema are coughing, swelling of the legs, breathlessness and wheezing. In case of severe pulmonary edema, symptoms such as respiratory failure, shock and organ damage due to lack of oxygen may occur.

Treatment
The initial step to treat pulmonary edema is to administer oxygen. Oxygen is given through a nasal cannula; it is a flexible tube made of plastic with two openings that allow oxygen to be delivered to the nostrils. The oxygen levels in your body are closely monitored by the doctor.

Based on the cause of pulmonary edema, the following treatments are administered:

1. Morphine: Morphine is administered to reduce breathing difficulties and anxiety.
2. Preload reducers: These medications help relieve the pressure in the lungs and the heart. Diuretics are a type of preload reducers; it is also known to cause excessive urination.
3. Afterload reducers: Afterload reducers are medications that relieve pressure from the left ventricle by dilating the blood vessels.
4. Use of blood pressure medication: Pulmonary edema caused by blood pressure changes i.e. if the disorder is caused by changes in your blood pressure, then blood pressure medications are administered to get your pressure back to normal levels. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Pulmonologist.

Why you should not take Antibiotics without consulting a doctor?

Many people suffer from a low libido problem. This can be a problem for their partners as well as for themselves. A low sex drive can also reduce one's self esteem and confidence. In severe cases it also leads to depression.

Factors which cause low sex drive:

1. Sexual problems: Many sexual problems also lead to a low sex drive. An inability to experience orgasm even after a lot of attempts can make one indifferent to sex. Some people also experience pain because of a tight vagina. In such cases their desire to have sex reduces greatly.
2. Medical diseases: Many medical conditions also affects your libido, such as cancer, arthritis, blood sugar (diabetes), artery diseases, high blood pressure and neurological diseases.
3. Medications: Some people suffer from depression and anxiety disorders. To get over these disorders most doctors prescribe them antidepressants and anti-anxiety pills, these medications create a very low libido.
4. Habits: Many lifestyle habits such as over-consumption of alcohol can make your sex drive reduce a lot. Smoking also decreases the blood flow in your body which may make your libido fall.
5. Surgery: Reconstructive surgeries such as breast reconstruction surgery and genital tract surgery can also affect sexual desire and give your body signals to not engage in an intercourse.
6. Fatigue: Tiredness because of physical activities or caring for your old parents or young children can also make you uninterested in sex. Your body and brain might not have the energy to engage in an intercourse due to fatigue.
7. Menopause: The levels of estrogen reduce greatly during menopause. Low estrogen levels make your vagina dry hence sex can be uncomfortable and painful. Women also go through hormonal changes which make them suffer from a low libido.
8. Pregnancy: After pregnancy, breastfeeding your baby becomes an everyday activity. This can reduce sexual desire because of the pressure of caring for a new born baby.

Regular exercising complemented with enough sleep is known to reduce stress thus giving you a high sex drive. Avoid consuming alcohol. Testosterone replacement therapy (a therapy used for treating erectile dysfunction) also treats low desire. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Sexologist.