Dr. Ashwini Indulkar

Hair loss is a prime concern for many men and women these days, whether it is genetic, due to stress, bad haircare or any medical condition. But with advances in the field and adequate research, various new techniques have cropped up in the market which can combat the condition with ease. Platelet-Rich Plasma or PRP, is showing impressive results in reversing hair loss. 

PRP is a non-surgical therapeutic hair restoration option. It is suitable for both men and women. It is a state-of-the-art, totally natural, alternative medical procedure used for the treatment of hair loss or hair thinning. It is an injectable treatment which uses the patient’s own blood.  

PRP has been in use in the medical field for two decades, and offers some promising potential for stimulating hair growth. However, no definitive studies yet exist that confirms its efficacy.

Advantages of PRP Therapy

PRP can be helpful in:

1. Slowing the rate of hair loss
2. Regrowing thinning hair to be thicker and full
3. Boosting the health and condition of the scalp
4. Stimulating collagen levels
5. Preparing the scalp for hair transplantation & post hair transplantation

PRP can also assist in the treatment of skin and scalp conditions such as:

1. Dry, itchy and inflamed scalp
2. Genetic hair loss
3. Alopecia areata
4. Telogen effluvium (commonly caused by stress)

 How PRP Works?

The scalp is cleansed and numbing cream applied. While the scalp is prepared, a small amount of blood is drawn from the patient. This blood is then centrifuged to produce the Platelet Rich Plasma. The PRP component is taken from the blood and injected or infused into the scalp or areas of hair loss. Patients are able to resume normal activities after this procedure.  

PRP harnesses the growth factors carried in the blood supply and then delivers a concentrated dose back to the affected scalp and hair follicles. The growth factors in the platelets stimulate the follicles to grow hair. The hair follicles in the resting phase (telogen) may be pushed into growth, and this will appear as new hair growth.

Who is a candidate for PRP?
Men or women who have early stages male or female pattern baldness are suitable candidates for PRP.  It is also suitable for men or women who are currently using hair loss medications; or those who are experiencing or expect to experience post-partum hair loss. It is also suitable for those who have had or plan to have hair transplant surgery. 

However, you are not a candidate for PRP if you:

1. Have medical conditions such as chronic liver disease, skin diseases or cancer, metabolic and systemic disorders
2. Have undergone anti-coagulation therapy
3. If you have any type of platelet dysfunction syndromes 

Homeopathy is a branch of medicine that is generally preferred over the conventional forms of medicine due to the absence of any noticeable side effects from the medication. While homeopathy can cure many diseases, causing hair to regrow is something that many people believe homeopathy cannot do. However, this belief is not based on facts. Homeopathy can help in hair regrowth to a considerable extent.
Here is a look at how the homeopathic treatment can greatly improve your chances of hair regrowth.

Homeopathy believes that like cures like. This means that a substance that can induce symptoms in a healthy person can also be used to treat those same pre-existing symptoms in a person undergoing a disorder. Most homeopathic medications are given in a very diluted form that is safe and does not induce any side effects.

The entire branch of homeopathy medicine is based on the fact that it does not just cure a particular condition but also the underlying reason behind the condition and tends to strengthen the overall immunity of the body in the process. This process is sometimes useful in growing hair in people who may have lost most of it. Homeopathic treatment also works for people who may suffer from hair loss as a symptom of some underlying condition.

Omega 3 supplements are prescribed to people suffering from hair loss. This is because one of the major causes of hair fall is inflammation. Regular Omega 3 supplements can reduce this inflammation and bring about hair regrowth.

Apart from the medication prescribed by a qualified homeopath, you can also rely on nutrients derived from fruits, vegetables and fish in order to accentuate hair growth.

Certain conditions can cause hair loss as a symptom. So, treatment for such a condition can also cure the underlying hair loss and bring about hair growth. For instance, certain scalp infections can cause hair loss. Most of these infections can be cured using homeopathy. Another example is the hair loss caused during menopause in women. Such hair loss can be controlled using proper medication for the same prescribed by a qualified homeopath.

Homeopathy is slowly beginning to get traction across the globe. Many are considering it to be a healthier alternative to conventional medicine. It causes little or no side effects and is a completely natural form of treatment. However, hair regrowth is a gradual process that does not occur within a single day or week. Patients should remember that homeopathic treatment for the same may also take its time to prove effective.

Acne refers to the spots on your cheeks that appear due to hormonal imbalance and other disorders. These are common among teenagers during puberty, but the scars left by the same may stay on the face for years after the acne themselves disappear. Conventional medication can treat both acne and the scars left behind, but homeopathy may be a better choice for people looking to limit the side effects of the treatment.

Reasons why you should choose homeopathy to treat acne
Homeopathy offers a permanent solution to the acne problem. Treatment through this natural method also results in other benefits.

1. It controls the tendency of the acne to appear again.
2. Decreases the acne in a direct manner.
3. Stops further spread of the spots.
4. Balances the hormone which caused the acne in the first place.
5. If you have oily skin, this treatment will reduce the same effect.
6. Reduces the chances of hyper-pigmentation.
7. Homeopathic treatment costs much lesser than conventional treatment or laser procedures.
8. Lastly, the treatment removes any scarring caused due to the acne.

How effective is homeopathy against acne and scars?

Instead of believing in miracle cures being sold online, you should place your trust in homeopathy if you want to treat acne and scars. When you visit a homeopath, he/she will ask you about your food habits and your lifestyle. This will give them an idea as to what the culprit is behind the problem.

Sometimes, intake of excess rich food can cause acne on the face. This may include having pastries, burgers and any other junk food. In such a case, the doctor will prescribe one form of medication. If the pustules are extremely painful and look like a boil, homeopathy calls for a different medication.

Similarly, if the acne involves pus-filled boils, the medication used will be different. Homeopathy also calls for different courses of treatment to be followed by people who have oily skin and also suffer from acne. In the same manner, the people suffering from gastric issues can also suffer from acne. In such a case, homeopaths prescribe a different medication.

As you can see, this branch of medicine includes a detailed treatment procedure for all forms of acne, which is why you can easily seek out homeopathic treatment for all your acne issues. If you follow the prescribed routine and stick to the doctor’s advice, you should begin to notice the difference. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Piles or Hemorrhoids could be an exasperating ailment as it affects the anal area – a part of your body that is vital to the normal bowel movement. This happens when the veins in the rectal area get inflated due to blood clotting. The condition is accompanied by the presence of blood in the stool, a burning sensation during defecation, itchiness and prolonged uneasiness around the anus. If the symptoms become too severe, the rectum might come out and cause pain. In that case, the rectum needs to be pushed in manually.

There are limited options of allopath medicines available when it comes to the treating piles. Surgery is a possible method but sometimes it is not recommended to a patient. However, there are homeopathy remedies that one might use to recover from this disorienting disorder.

1. Homeopathic supplement made from the extract of North American witch hazel shrub is known to cure piles. Bleeding that occurs as a result of piles is a thing of concern. This medicine helps to stop the bleeding and resists the development of further venous clots.
2. Krameria is another South American shrub whose roots are used to make a homeopathic medicine for treating piles. Many people feel a burning sensation around the anus while passing stool which makes defecation a difficult activity and the pain often remains for a long time. The homeopathic supplement made from the Krameria shrub is used to treat piles that cause pain.
3. A homeopathic drug made from the tincture of the European honey bee is also used to treat painful hemorrhoids. The burning sensation that one feels around the anus owing to piles is similar to that which is felt on being stung by a bee. Homeopathic medicines often treat an effect by the cause of that effect. In this case, it treats the stinging sensation by an agent that causes the sensation.
4. Strychnine tree is a deciduous plant that grows in India and Southeast Asia. It contains the alkaloids - strychnine and brucine that are poisonous but can be used to produce alternative medicines. Gastrointestinal disorders aggravate the condition of piles. This medicine cures piles by eliminating these disorders.
5. Black Carbon is a component that some homeopathic medicines use. Black carbon cures constipation, a condition that often develops piles, and softens the stool so that no straining is required while defecating.
6. Piles are often accompanied by back pain. A homeopathy medicine made from the compounds of the Horse Chestnut tree help to cure backache.

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

Homeopathy, since its inception, has been termed a pseudoscience, as something that is not backed by proper science. It continues to be a hotly debated topic centuries after its invention but the main aim of homeopathy is to push for the individual to heal themselves. The healing comes from within and the homeopathic treatment induces the body’s natural healing properties so that the body experiences almost no damage from harsh chemicals found in allopathic treatments.

Homeopathic treatment, also known as alternative or complementary medicines, is effective in a lot of cases and not as a placebo effect. Diabetes is a disease that results from imbalances in the blood sugar levels and the fact that the pancreas cannot keep up with the insulin requirement of the body and is overworked, thereby damaging the cells that produce insulin. There are a number of ways in which homeopathy can help keep blood sugar levels normal, some of these are:

1. Acupuncture: Something that is a lesser known fact about diabetes is that it can cause nerve damage- diabetic neuropathy. Some of the complications this can cause are numbness in different areas of the body, further damage to internal organs like the heart. Acupuncture is a great solution for this as its purpose is to induce the body’s natural pain killers. It can help heal chronic pain that diabetic neuropathy brings along.
2. Chromium: Diabetes, apart from disrupting insulin flow, also affects blood sugar levels in the body. It further damages the body’s sensitivity to insulin thereby affecting its ability to absorb insulin into the system. Chromium helps in maintaining the normal levels of blood sugar, increases insulin sensitivity and helps improve its function by amplifying glucose tolerance. Chromium-rich food items include seafood, vegetables and fruits and even oatmeal and hazelnuts.
3. Ginseng: Ginseng has been studied and seen to be effective in bringing down insulin resistance thereby increasing the functionality of insulin in the body, helping in its absorption. Fasting blood sugar levels are what determine whether you suffer from diabetes and studies have shown that ginseng has made beneficial differences to the fasting blood glucose levels.
4. Biofeedback: This technique is one that increases your awareness about the functions of the body and thus provides you with more control over the functions. These functions may not be ones that you think about but biofeedback can help you gain awareness of them and extend it beyond just awareness to controlling your body’s pain responses. “Guided imagery” falls under this technique, whereby the patient associates curing of their diseases with calming images that they are subjected to.
5. Fibre-rich foods: Food that is rich in fibre content is great for controlling blood sugar levels for fibre is something that the body is unable to digest so it stalls the rise of blood sugar levels in the body after a meal. Any plant-based food item is rich in fibre content.

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

Hyperpigmentation refers to the darkening of certain areas of the skin when compared to the general complexion of a person. This can occur in any part of the body and people are known to suffer from the same often. There is no fixed age when hyperpigmentation occurs and can take place at any point of time in one’s life.

What are the types of hyperpigmentation?
A person can suffer from several forms of hyperpigmentation. These include.

1. Freckles- These are tiny black spots which appear on the skin.
2. Solar Lentigines- These spots mainly appear due to overexposure to the sun.
3. Melasma- This type of hyperpigmentation is only seen in pregnant women as it is caused by hormonal changes related to the pregnancy.

Causes of Hyperpigmentation
There can be a number of reasons that can cause hyperpigmentation. Here is a look at some of the most common cases for the disorder

1. Children can inherit the disorder from their parents.
2. Prolonged exposure to the sun can also cause the same.
3. Fidgeting with skin and poking at it may cause the disorder.
4. Certain drugs related to hormone imbalance and antibiotics may cause hyperpigmentation as a side effect.
5. Skin damage from severe acne can also be a cause for the disorder.

Homeopathy For Hperpigmentation-

Homeopathy does not merely treat the area of the skin where the effects of hyperpigmentation are visible. Instead, it treats the underlying issue that causes the hyperpigmentation in the first place. The medication cannot be prescribed in such a case without fully evaluating the patient and going through his/her medical history.

Homeopathic practitioners consider the cause of the abnormal pigmentation of the skin prior to prescribing the medicine. Some of the things that are checked among patients include their stress levels, hormonal balance in the body, exposure to sun, nutrition and even the veracity of their immune systems.

A doctor who gets to the root of the issue will know exactly which course of the treatment will be most effective against the disorder for the said patient. Since excess melanin is usually the culprit behind any pigmentation-related disorder, homeopaths prescribe medicines that nullify the excess compound and restores overall hormonal balance of the body. However, to maintain the overall texture and quality of skin, homeopathic practitioners may also recommend the usage of certain ointments. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Photodamaged skin is a disorder which is mainly caused due to overexposure to the sun. This is why it is also referred to as sun damaged skin. The sun’s rays causes the naturally occurring oils of the skin to evaporate that eventually leads to dry skin. Once the skin is dried out, the UV rays from the sun can burn it which in turn causes the disorder.

Types of Photodamaged Skin
Sun damage to the skin is not limited to just a single form. In fact, there can be 4 distinct types in which the disorder can affect the skin.

1. Dry Skin- This causes the skin to flake off and look wrinkled in the process.
2. Sunburn- When your skin is slightly over-exposed to the sun, it may become red and painful. However, greater exposure may even cause blisters and other forms of boils to appear over the skin’s surface.
3. Actinic keratosis- A more permanent form of sun damage, Actinic keratosis results in the formation of a small patch of scaly eruptions on the skin. This does not go away on its own and needs to be removed by a physician.
4. Long-term changes- If the exposure to the sun continues for a considerably long period of time, it may cause permanent damage to the structural protein in the skin. Photo-ageing or premature ageing may be one of the long-term changes.

Effective homeopathic treatment for sun damaged skin
Homeopathy treats the underlying cause of the sun damage and not just the external area of the skin where the damage has occurred. This is why the practitioners will first conduct a complete checkup of the patient to know about the normal skin condition of that person. Some people tend to have oily skin while others are predisposed to have drier skin. The people with dry skin are at greater risk of sun damage, as compared to those who possess oily skin.

Certain homeopathic medications are devised to treat mild sunburn while others are effective against the photodamaged skin cases of greater severity. For instance, the medicine extracted from Cantharis sp. is a great homeopathic medicine for treating sun damaged skin where blisters are also visible. However, the medicine extracted from the plant Belladonna is used in case the sunburn has only caused redness and no other symptoms.

At any rate, patients are recommended to avoid exposing their skin to the sun, as continued exposure can lead to skin cancers as well.

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

Polycystic ovarian disease is a disorder that currently affects at least 4 out of 10 women. A sedentary lifestyle and faulty eating habits are the major reasons behind the development of PCOD. This condition is accompanied by irregular menstruation and often a patient misses her periods for a few months.

PCOD is the accumulation of fluid-filled cysts in the ovaries due to which the normal menstruation is disrupted and ovaries become inflated. Allopath medicines treat the disorder by inducing the periods. But they do not eliminate the cysts from the ovaries completely. However, homeopathic medicines treat the symptoms rather than the disorder itself and eventually regularize menstruation. Homeopathic medicines are so effective that a person after completing the course does not need to depend on medicines anymore to get her periods.

1. A homeopathic medicine which is made from the tincture of the common cuttlefish is a foolproof method to treat PCOD. This medicine can regularize the menstruation and also treat enlarged ovaries. The medicine is also used to treat hirsutism, a condition accompanied by unusual growth of facial hair.
2. Anemone is a group of flowering plants which belongs to the buttercup family. The extract of this plant is used to make a homeopathic medicine to treat PCOD. This medicine particularly treats the symptom whereby the woman suffers from inadequate menses and abdominal pain during the flow. The medicine amends the condition by gradually removing the disruption that leads to insufficient menses.
3. Impure calcium carbonate that is often found lining the mid-section of shells is used to compose homeopathic medicines to treat PCOD. The medicine is used to treat a woman who suffers from excessive flow as well as obesity.
4. Samuel Hahnemann was the first practitioner to find out that salt can be used as a homeopathic remedy. Salt in the form of a homeopathic medicine is used to treat a woman with PCOD, especially those suffering from suppressed periods that can lead to infertility. A woman suffering from PCOD who is looking forward to conceiving can take this medication to cure the self.
5. Eastern arborvitae is an evergreen coniferous tree whose extract is used to make a homeopathic medicine that has the ability to melt the cysts that accumulate in the ovaries as a result of PCOD.
6. PCOD is often accompanied by the development of acne and pimples. These symptoms can be easily treated by homeopathic medicines that are composed of sulfur, silicon and oxygen.

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

Eczema is a skin condition that is accompanied by itchy rashes on the skin. They often bleed and give out a foul smell. Eczema usually develops during one's childhood. There are allopath medicines available to treat this condition but their action is only short-lived. These medicines provide temporary relief but fail to cure the ailment completely. However, homeopathic medicines can help an affected person recover completely owing to their ability to work at the core. Today we are going to discuss about some of the components that homeopathic medicines use to treat eczema.

1. Some of the homeopathic supplements use carbon or black lead to treat eczema. Eczema often tends to develop around warm and moist areas like the folds of the elbows, behind the ears, between the toes, behind the knees. Black carbon is a primary aerosol which contains cooling agents. Homeopathy remedies make use of this quality of black carbon to heal eczema.
2. Eczema undoubtedly develops in areas that mostly receive less air. However, the condition can be aggravated during the winters and cause more irritation. There are homeopathic supplements that make use of a fluid extracted from the vesicle (a component of the cell) of a person affected by scabies to treat eczema. Scabies is another skin condition that occurs when the scabies mites eat into the skin and lay eggs there. This is a condition that is somewhat similar to eczema in that it leads to skin irritation and itchiness.
3. Petroleum extract is another homeopathic remedy to treat eczema. The medicine made from petroleum works in a similar manner as Vaseline. As has been aforementioned eczema worsens during the winter as the skin gets chapped and incessant scratching leaves lesions on the skin. The homeopathic drug controls this situation by keeping the skin moisturized.
4. According to the University of Michigan Health System, sulfur is a very important mineral that takes care of the connective tissues, bones, teeth, hair as well as the skin. Therefore homeopathic medicines use sulfur which acts as a sure-fire component when it comes to treating eczema.
5. Poison Ivy is a component that is used to treat skin conditions. The homeopathic drug made from the extract of the poison ivy plant especially treats eczema that develops on the face, scalp and around the mucous membranes. Severe eczema can also result in stiff joints. The medicine works to heal a person from such botheration.

This is an article that aims at making you acquainted with the homeopathic remedies available for treating eczema.

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