Health-Next

For regions struck by rabies epidemic, the arrival of an additional stock of 1,000 anti-rabies vaccine (VAR) dosages is great news. The general public and the medical workers in Denpasar, Tabanan and Badung are relieved with the coming of the vaccine. Bali previously did not have enough stock of the vaccine at their medical facilities.

Sanglah Central Hospital, the main referral facility for rabies cases in the island reported recently that it had just 100 VAR dosages remaining in stock. On an average, the hospital requires 150 dosages. In sync with Sanglah Central Hospital, the Tabanan regional hospital has also reported shortages of dosages of VAR.

According to health officials, the delay in the arrival of the vaccine from Jakarta to Bali was due to Java’s traffic congestion. With the lack of the vaccines, there was a panic among the people of Bali, and the community leaders as well as the legislators requested the government to take into view the fatal epidemic more seriously. Since its emergence last year, rabies has already claimed 11 fatalities.

Ken Wirasandhi, Head of Sanglah Central Hospital’s Rabies Mitigation Team, says that with the arrival of the fresh stock of dosages of VAR, the hospital will be able to provide the vaccine inoculation to any patient who required it. In the time of shortage, the hospital was prioritizing recently bitten patients with the vaccine for conserving the stock. He added that in future, the hospital in a bid to prevent any vaccine shortages, had requested another batch of VAR from Jakarta.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Sri Sathya Sai Heart Hospital organized a free heart check-up camp in Ahmedabad to mark the World Heart Day. There were over 700 heart patients who attended the camp. The hospital, located in Rajkot aimed at benefiting heart patients who cannot afford a check-up.

The camp witnessed patients aged 2 to 60 years coming for a free heart check-up from Viramgam, Sanand, Ahmedabad and Dhandhuka. Manoj Bhimani, joint managing trustee of the hospital said that over 54 patients who need instant heart surgery have been chosen for free treatment. He added that these patients are from the society’s poor strata and cannot afford the expensive treatment. Bhimani also said that there are 187 patients who have been referred to the heart hospital by the state government.

Apart from offering free treatment to the very needy people, the hospital is also spreading awareness about heart diseases. In the previous year, the hospital had conducted 768 free of charge operations and this year it aims to conduct 1,000 free heart operations. In the next two years, the hospital authorities plan to extend their efforts to the remotest regions of Gujarat.

Popularity: 11% [?]

An unhealthy heart can result in death, so why not try and keep heart diseases at bay? The heart is an important organ in the human body; take care of it and ensure a long life for you.

Check the medical history of your family. In case, you have someone in the family with heart ailments, you might be prone to heart diseases also. Apart from your genes, one can be prone to heart problems with age also. The best you can do for yourself is taking the preventive route for avoiding heart illnesses.

Keys to having a healthy heart

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a good habit. Exercise regularly, and in all probability avoid smoking or best is absolutely abstain from smoking. The presence of more than 4,800 chemicals in tobacco smoke damages blood vessels and disrupts the normal functioning of your heart. With smoking, you unconsciously let in carbon monoxide into your body; thus your heart is forced to struggle for getting enough oxygen.

Do not be obese and be fit. Start working out and indulge in regular physical activity; this keeps your body weight in check and keeps heart problems at bay. Armed with physical fitness, you will be able to keep away from health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol.

Remember that proper exercising helps in increasing the flow of blood to your heart. If you think that strenuous workouts will be better for your heart, you are wrong. You may increase the frequency, duration and intensity of your workouts, but make sure you are comfortable with the workout regimes.

Laugh a lot and be cheerful. If you are merry, you will have a happy heart which will be healthy too.

What to eat

Intake a lot of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and dairy products low on fat content. The quantity of health food that you intake throughout your life will show results through your healthy heart and body. Take care to eat fish of certain kinds, legumes and low-fat sources of protein. If you care for your heart, make sure you do not include any kind of junk food and fatty food in your diet.

Even if you are eating healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, it is advisable to go for regular heart check ups. When you know that there is nothing wrong and that your heart is functioning fine, you will be at peace.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Heart Federation (WHF), and World Economic Forum (WEF) have teamed up for a global appeal to make workplace healthier. According to WHF, in the near future one of the major problems would be chronic diseases. “Some of the world’s leading companies and members of the World Economic Forum have workplace wellness programmes,” asserts Prof Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of WEF; which according to him should be the norm everywhere. Statistically it has been found that the cost of treating or preventing diseases is four times lesser than the fall in productivity.

Heart diseases have elevated themselves from being rich man’s diseases to global killers. Heart attacks and strokes account for more than 17 million deaths every year. People who are in the group of 25-30 years have now started succumbing to heart diseases. Some of the reasons for this trend have been work pressure, obesity, lack of exercise, an inactive life and smoking. According to the doctors young people should change their lifestyle to prevent the rise of heart diseases.

Some do’s and don’ts:

i) Exercise regularly
ii) Quit smoking
iii) Quit drinking
iv) Avoid late night works
v) Avoid eating of junk food
vi) 7-8 hours of daily sleep

Popularity: 15% [?]

Migraine headaches are very disturbing and at the same time a painful experience. There are many people who suffer from this problem and yet leave the headache undiagnosed. It is a very common problem; you will find lots of people speak abut a migraine headache.

What happens in migraine?

It is not necessary that you will be faced with a migraine attack daily if you are suffering from migraines. Migraines can traumatize you once or maybe twice a week. Sometimes the pain may get unbearable and even go to the extent of disabling a person.

If you are suffering from migraine, you will find that it is not possible to endure bright light. A migraine patient is prone to feelings of nausea and tendencies to vomit regularly. To a migraine patient, it seems that blinking lights are crossing the path of vision.

Why a woman is susceptible to migraines?

In comparison to men, women are more prone to getting migraine headaches. The estrogen levels boost migraines in women. Before a woman starts to menstruate or gets her periods, there is a tendency of having migraine. Migraines are known to be a common experience during pregnancy and during menopause.

Intake of contraceptives and undergoing hormone replacement therapies are other reasons for a woman to get a migraine attack as a side effect.

Migraine treatment

Over the counter medicines are available to provide relief from migraines. You can get effective over the counter medicines like aspirin, acetaminophen, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen.

It is advisable to consult your doctor for a planned treatment. Your doctor will be able to help you reduce the severity and the frequency of the headaches.

You could also try some natural remedies like placing an icepack at the bottom of your skull and your nape. It is also important to continue the intake of prescribed medicines. This combination will prove to be highly effective for people suffering from migraine. Eat healthy and abstain from smoking and drinking. Avoid any food or activity that triggers a migraine attack.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Are you losing hair at an alarming rate and do not know what to do? You are not alone. There are a huge number of people all over the world, who are faced with hair loss problems and are nearing the bald state or are already bald.

Why does acute hair loss happen?

Acute hair fall results from some health related problems which are actually triggered by an improper diet, stress at work, illness, lots of exposure to the sun, use of chemicals, perming hair, and bleaching.

Apart from these factors, hormonal problems also result in excessive hair loss. Medicines like antidepressants, birth control pills, and medicines used in chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer cause hair loss.

Diabetes and fungal infections of the scalp also contribute to acute hair loss in men and women.

How can I prevent hair loss?

If you want to stop losing hair, first and foremost you have to stop worrying. The more you worry, the more hair you lose. If you are experiencing more than normal hair fall, you need to start taking care of your hair.

Keep your hair and scalp clean by using a mild hair shampoo regularly. Drink at least 10 to 12 glasses of water daily to flush out the toxins from your system. Eat healthy; introduce lots of green leafy vegetables, dairy products and fruits in your diet. It is advisable to eat food rich in iron, vitamins, proteins and other nutrients.

Increase zinc intake for preventing premature graying and hair loss. Copper also stops hair fall. Food containing copper like cashew nuts, peanuts, whole milk, beans, and seeds can help combat acute hair loss.

You can apply hair conditioner twice a week. Take care not to apply conditioner onto the roots, as this will worsen your hair fall condition.

What else can you do?

There are other remedies to combat that you can try at home.

# Massage your scalp gently with the uncooked yolk of an egg. Leave it on for an hour and then wash it off.
# You can also massage olive oil onto your scalp.
# Put Red Henna on the scalp and keep it on for 1 hour before washing it off. Do this once in a fortnight and you will see a lot of difference in the quantity of hair fall.
# Another effective way is to apply castor oil on the scalp and hair roots, but not on the hair. Then wrap your hair in a newspaper and tie it with a cloth; leave it on overnight. Wash it off using a mild shampoo in the morning.
# You can also wash your hair everyday with the water in which you boiled rosemary leaves.

Hair loss is annoying and the situation aggravates with your constant worrying. So stop panicking and do what it takes to have healthy and lustrous hair.

Popularity: 10% [?]