Swami Criticare Hospital

Hormone replacement a therapy used to treat symptoms of menopause by restoring the balance of estrogen and progesterone by administering it.

Forms of Hormonal Therapy

Local therapy which includes creams, pessaries, and rings; systemic therapy in the form of oral drugs, transdermal patches, gels, and implants. Women who do not have womb take combined estrogen and progesterone hormones in the form of pills.

Effect of Menopause and How Hormone Replacement Therapy Helps
Menopause affects urogenital system causing atrophy of mucosal lining of urethra, vagina, and vulva leading to dryness and reduced vaginal secretions. It affects bones in which metabolism takes place causing progressive bone loss. It increases the risk of heart disease. By starting with hormone replacement therapy, most of the menopausal symptoms gets relieved like hot flushes, irregular menses, night sweats, mood swings, loss of libido, osteoporosis. It is believed that women who start hormone replacement therapy may develop cancer in future, but still, research is going on.

Who should go for it?

• Menopausal women who suffer moderate to severe hot flushes, loss of libido, urogenital problems, psychological issues such as anxiety and mood swings
• Menopausal women who have severe joint pain or pain all over due to decreased bone mass
• Women who got menopause early (before the age of 40)
• Women who had their ovaries removed

Hormone replacement therapy is carefully selected for those women who are at low risk to develop heart disease and breast cancer.

Guidelines for Menopausal Women Receiving Hormone Replacement Therapy

1. Menopausal women who have undergone hysterectomy can receive estrogen replacement alone.
2. Menopausal women, who have a uterus, receive a combination of estrogen and progestogen to prevent endometrial cancer.
3. In menopausal women, who experience moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms, the duration of hormone replacement therapy use will optimally be less than 5 years.
4. For menopausal women, who suffer vaginal dryness due to less vaginal secretion, intravaginal estrogen preparation is given.
5. Hormone replacement therapy doesn’t improve loss of libido; however, if it is disturbing most, transdermal estrogen is given.
6. To reduce the longer use of hormone replacement therapy, lower doses of both estrogen and progestogens is suggested.

Can Hormone Replacement Therapy be given to Older Women?

Yes. Women who had menopause 10-15 years back can go for hormone replacement therapy, but the benefit is quite less compared to younger age group. Possible risk of heart disease and cancer should be kept in mind before prescribing it to older women.

Risk/Side-effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy

1. Breast cancer
2. Endometrial cancer
3. Thromboembolism Heart disease
4. Breast tenderness
5. Nausea Bloating

Treatment Regimen

Combination hormone replacement therapy regime is given by using lower doses of estrogen and progestin.

Exercising outdoors is always fun and refreshing for the body. It de stresses the mind and increases energy in the body. Most people prefer outdoors workout due to the pleasant weather. There are many advantages of working out outdoors but you need to follow some tips to make sure your workouts are injury free.

Here are 4 tips to make your workouts safe:

1. Warm up: Warming up before you begin your workout is very essential to a safe workout. A good warm up increases your heart rate and improves your blood circulation. It also improves the mobility of your joints, thus reducing the risk of injury. A sample warm up may consist of shoulder rotations, jogging in place, bodyweight squats and burpees.
2. Stretch: Stretching after your workout is essential for injury free joints. Stretching helps to ease the tension in your muscles and allows greater range of motion. Blood circulation also improves along with reducing soreness in your muscles. It lengthens the muscles and allows it to return to its natural position, thus improving posture of the body. Stretches are either classified as static and dynamic. Static stretches are stretches which are held for a fixed period whereas dynamic stretches involve moving through various postures.
3. Limit sun exposure: Make sure you are not over exposed to the rays of the sun. This may lead to various skin complications such as sunburns, tanning and even skin cancer. Too much sun exposure may increase free radicals in the skin, leading to various skin disorders. Apply a sunscreen before you head out as this will protect your skin. Wear proper gear such as caps and full sleeved clothing to protect your body from the harmful UV rays of the sun.
4. Wear the right footwear: If you love running on roads, then you need to take special care in selecting your footwear. Running on roads without proper cushioning may increase your risk of injuries such as shin splints and other calf injuries.

The 2018 Asian Games are the 18th Asian games. In this pan-Asian sports event, athletes from various Asian countries are going to participate to prove their mettle. Though the athletes will be participating in different games and sports, there’s one thing common among all the athletes; physical fitness.

As an Asian nation, India too is a part of the 2018 Asian Games, and a lot is expected this time from Indian Athletes participating in the event.

Indian Athletes To Look Out For

• All the eyes are going to be on the latest Indian sensation, Hima Das. She recently won a gold in World Under 20 Championship.
• Commonwealth Javelin champion, Neeraj Chopra is also in Spotlight this time.
• The famous Phogat sisters are going to be a part of the games to take over the wrestling medals.
• Another sensation Manu Bhakar will also be participating in the games along with Heena Sidhu to compete in the Shooting games.
• Along with these seasoned athletes, a pool of Indian athletes is going to be a part of Asian Games 2018, and curious Indian eyes will be upon them to get maximum golds this time.

Staying Fit As An Athlete
Being a fit athlete doesn’t mean one has to be just fast and agile, building stamina and core strength are equally important. For this, athletes have to get out of their comfort zone and push their boundaries. This is achieved through rigorous training and exercises, which needs the most out of them. Moreover, training just for a specific sport is not what athletes do nowadays. They concentrate on training their overall body to give them the much-required overall fitness.

Here are some of the exercises Athletes swear by:

1. Jogging/Sprinting
2. Swimming
3. Squatting
4. Deadlifting
5. Broad Jump
6. Pushups
7. Crunches
8. Planks
9. Weight Training
10. Strength Training

Exercising is for Everyone and not just Athletes:

As per WHO, more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight in 2016. This is a startling fact. The primary cause of this is our changing work style. Earlier, jobs used to be much more manual in nature, entailing inbuilt physical work. That has changed now, with a big proportion of the jobs becoming much less physical. Many people spend their entire working hours just sitting on the chair. This means that the natural exercise that the previous generation used to get into jobs is not there anymore.

To counter this, it has become very important to exercise regularly. Exercising gives our body and muscles the necessary physical movement. It has also been proven that exercising improves the brain activity.

10 Healthy Habits of Pro Athletes:

1. Start with a dynamic warm-up.
2. Consider rest and recovery as important as the rest of your training.
3. Spend time fine-tuning your coordination.
4. Pay attention to what your body is telling you.
5. Do what you can when you can.
6. Take the time to slow down.
7. Prioritize quality over quantity.
8. Stay hydrated.
9. Keep your core strong.
10. Get as much sleep as you need.

Staying fit is not a difficult task. All you need to do is take out at least half an hour to one hour every day for basic training and involve yourself in physical activities as much as you can. Something as simple as jogging everyday can help you achieve a good level of fitness. To top that up, keep adding extra exercises in your workout regime, such as squatting, jumping, crunches, planks, etc.

Exercising regularly is not just for athletes, but everyone should be doing it. Even those who are elderly should exercise regularly, albeit quantum and nature of exercises would be much different. Keeping a watch on what you eat is equally important. So, train hard and eat smart to stay fit, strong, and healthy.

Psoriasis is a long term disorder that affects the skin. In this condition, the skin cells start to grow at an accelerated rate with thick red and white welts on the skin. While normal skin cells grow and flake off within four odd weeks, the new skin cells in this condition crowd the skin before these old skin cells go away. 

The patches that occur as a result of this condition are known as plaque build-up which mostly appears on the scalp, feet, knees, elbows and lower back. Let us find out more about this condition and how it may be treated with the help of homeopathy:

Causes and Triggers-

The most common triggers for this condition include bacterial and viral infections. Stress during inducing situation also acts as a trigger. Cuts, snake bites or other insect bites can lead to this condition. Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption may also be the cause of Psoriasis. This condition can also appear as a side effect of other medication too.

Symptoms-

The symptoms include ridge like patches which are thick and pitted. Also, the patient may complain of pain and stiffness in the joints as well as itching, soreness and puffiness. Scaly spots may also appear on the skin which may eventually become dry and cracked before bleeding begins.

Types of Psoriasis-

There are various types of psoriasis which must be treated in different ways. Scalp psoriasis is a common form, while skin and nail psoriasis may also be found in many patients. Guttate and Palomar Plantar Psoriasis are other rare forms where puss filled sores may appear on the skin.

Homeopathy Treatment-

The main treatment in homeopathy includes working on the immunity of the patient along with a cure for the inflammation. Arsenic Album is one of the main medicines used in this case as well as Kali Brom, which is best for treating cold skin which has blue corrugated sores. Thyrodium may also be used in case the patient is experiencing dry skin with cold hands and feet. Radium Brom can also help in curing excessive itching and oozing that may appear on the face. Apis Mellifica can be used for taking care of rashes that may be caused in this condition while Calendula is a medicine used for topical application. This medicine is used for soothing the skin which has undergone severe inflammation. Sulphur is a homeopathic medicine that is used for a variety of skin ailments and disorders.

Every individual is unique so only after detailed case taking the individual accurate homeopathic remedy is given to the patient.

Length of Treatment-

As for the length of treatment it entirely depends upon how chronic or old the problem is though the voluptuous itching is relieved soon after starting the medicines. Homeopathy provides permanent, fast and complete cure without any side effects.