Goitre

Xerophthalmia (Nutritional blindness)

Literally, xerophthalmia means ‘disease of the dry eye’ .The term xerophthalmia refers to all the ocular manifestations of vitamin A deficiency, form night blindness to complete corneal destruction.

Ocular changes due to vit.A deficiency

            1. Night blindness.

            2. Conjunctival xerosis.

            3. Bitot’s spots.

            4. Corneal xerosis.

            5. Corneal scar:

            6. Corneal ulceration/ keratomalacia

Diseases

,

There is not a single human in this world who has never fallen prey to a disease. We make a list of common diseases that given below in alphabetical order.

• Acne
• Allergies
• Anemia
• Asthma

• Goiture
• Gonorrhea
• Pneumonia

• xerophthalmia

Allergy

Allergy is the most common health problems. The term allergy is used to describe a response, within the body, to a substance, which is not necessarily harmful in itself, but results in an immune response and a reaction that causes symptoms and disease in a predisposed person, which in turn can cause inconvenience, or a great deal of misery.
An allergy is everything from a runny nose, itchy eyes and palate to skin rash. It aggravates the sense of smell, sight, tastes and touch causing irritation, extreme disability and sometimes fatality. It occurs when the body's immune system overreacts to normally harmless substances.


Allergy is widespread and affects approximately one in four of the population in the UK at some time in their lives. Each year the numbers are increasing by 5% with as many as half of all those affected being children.

Symptoms of Allergy:
• Runny nose
• Sneezing
• Itching
• Rashes
• Swelling
• Asthma
• A very sever form of allergic reaction that can be life threatening is called ANAPHYLAXIS.


Allergic reactions:
An allergic reaction may occur anywhere in the body, in the skin, eyes, lining of the stomach, nose, sinuses, throat, and lungs - places where immune system cells are located to fight off invaders that are inhaled, swallowed, or come in contact with the skin. Reactions may result in:

• rhinitis - nasal stuffiness, sneezing, nasal itching, nasal discharge, itching in ears or roof of mouth
• allergic conjunctivitis - red, itchy, watery eyes
• atopic dermatitis - red, itchy, dry skin
• urticaria - hives or itchy welts
• contact dermatitis - itchy rash
• asthma (airway problems such as shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing)

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs caused by bacteria, viruses, or chemical irritants. It is a serious infection or inflammation in which the air sacs fill with pus and other liquid. Prior to the discovery of antibiotics, one-third of all people who developed pneumonia subsequently died from the infection.

• Lobar pneumonia affects one or more sections (lobes) of the lungs.
• Bronchial pneumonia (or bronchopneumonia) affects patches throughout both lungs.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of pneumonia are:

·         Cough (with some pneumonias you may cough up greenish or yellow mucus, or even bloody mucus)

·         Fever, which may be mild or high

·         Shaking chills

·         Shortness of breath (may only occur when you climb stairs)

Additional symptoms include:

·         Confusion, especially in older people

·         Excessive sweating and clammy skin

·         Headache

·         Loss of appetite, low energy, and fatigue

·         Sharp or stabbing chest pain that gets worse when you breathe deeply or cough

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is usually made based on the season and the extent of the illness. Based on these factors, your physician may diagnose simply on a thorough history and physical examination, but may include the tests to confirm the diagnosis.

If you have pneumonia, you may be working hard to breathe, or breathing fast. Crackles are heard when listening to your chest with a stethoscope. Other abnormal breathing sounds may also be heard through the stethoscope or via percussion (tapping on your chest wall).

• The health care provider will likely order a chest x-ray if pneumonia is suspected.

Some patients may need other tests, including

• Blood tests - to analyze the amount of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood.
• Sputum culture - a diagnostic test performed on the material that is coughed up from the lungs and into the mouth. A sputum culture is often performed to determine if an infection is present.
• Pulse oximetry - an oximeter is a small machine that measures the amount of oxygen in the blood. To obtain this measurement, a small sensor (such as a Band-Aid) is taped onto a finger or toe. When the machine is on, a small red light can be seen in the sensor. The sensor is painless and the red light does not get hot.

·         Pleural fluid culture if there is fluid in the space surrounding the lungs

Treatment for pneumonia:

Specific treatment will be determined by your physician based on:

• your age, overall health, and medical history
• extent of the disease
• your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
• expectations for the course of the disease
• your opinion or preference

Treatment may include antibiotics for bacterial pneumonia. Antibiotics may also speed recovery from mycoplasma pneumonia and some special cases. There is no clearly effective treatment for viral pneumonia, which usually heals on its own.

Other treatment may include appropriate diet, oxygen therapy, pain medication, and medication for cough.

You can take these steps at home:

·         Control your fever with aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen or naproxen), or acetaminophen. DO NOT give aspirin to children.

·         Do not take cough medicines without first talking to your doctor. Cough medicines may make it harder for your body to cough up the extra sputum.

·         Drink plenty of fluids to help loosen secretions and bring up phlegm.

·         Get lots of rest. Have someone else do household chores.

Expectations (prognosis)

With treatment, most patients will improve within 2 weeks. Elderly or debilitated patients may need longer treatment.
Those who may be more likely to have complicated pneumonia include:

·         Older adults or very young children

·         People whose immune system does not work well

·         People with other, serious medical problems such as diabetes or cirrhosis of the liver

Your doctor may want to make sure your chest x-ray becomes normal again after you take a course of antibiotics. However, it may take many weeks for your x-ray to clear up.

Complications

Possible complications include:

·         Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a severe form of respiratory failure

·         Empyema or lung abscesses. These are infrequent, but serious, complications of pneumonia. They occur when pockets of pus form inside or around the lung. These may sometimes need to be drained with surgery.

·         Respiratory failure, which requires a breathing machine or ventilator

·         Sepsis, a condition in which there is uncontrolled swelling (inflammation) in the body, which may lead to organ failure

Call your doctor if you have:

·         Worsening respiratory symptoms

·         Shortness of breath, shaking chills, or persistent fevers

·         Rapid or painful breathing

·         A cough that brings up bloody or rust-colored mucus

·         Chest pain that worsens when you cough or inhale

·         Night sweats or unexplained weight loss

·         Signs of pneumonia and weak immune system, as with HIV or chemotherapy

Infants with pneumonia may not have a cough. Call your doctor if your infant makes grunting noises or the area below the rib cage is retracting while breathing.

Prevention

Wash your hands frequently, especially after blowing your nose, going to the bathroom, diapering, and before eating or preparing foods.
Don't smoke. Tobacco damages your lung's ability to ward off infection.
Vaccines may help prevent pneumonia in children, the elderly, and people with diabetes, asthma, emphysema, HIV, cancer, or other chronic conditions:

·         A drug called Synagis (palivizumab) is given to some children younger than 24 months to prevent pneumonia caused by respiratory syncytial virus.

·         Flu vaccine prevents pneumonia and other problems caused by the influenza virus. It must be given yearly to protect against new virus strains.

·         HIV vaccine prevents pneumonia in children from Haemophilus influenzae type b.

·         Pneumococcal vaccine (Pneumovax, Prevnar) lowers your chances of getting pneumonia from Streptococcus pneumoniae.

If you have cancer or HIV, talk to your doctor about additional ways to prevent pneumonia and other infections.

Anemia

Anemia, one of the most common blood disorders, occurs when the level of healthy red blood cells (RBCs) in the body becomes too low. This can lead to health problems because RBCs contain hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to the body's tissues. Anemia can cause a variety of complications, including fatigue and stress on bodily organs. Women and people with chronic diseases are at increased risk of anemia.

Signs and Symptoms

Anemia may cause a variety of signs and symptoms. It can also make almost any other underlying medical condition worse. If anemia is mild, it may not cause any symptoms. If anemia is slowly ongoing (chronic), the body may adapt and compensate for the change; in this case there may not be any symptoms until the anemia becomes more severe.

Symptoms:

• Fatigue or lack of energy
• Decreased energy
• Weakness
• Shortness of breath
• Palpitations (feeling of the heart racing or beating irregularly)
• Looking pale
• Headaches
• Problems concentrating
• Shortness of breath (especially during exercise)

Symptoms of severe anemia may include:

• Chest pain, angina, or heart attack
• Dizziness or light-headedness (especially when standing up or with exertion)
• Fainting or passing out
• Rapid heart rate
• If the anemia is caused by excessive destruction of RBCs, symptoms also may include jaundice, a yellowing of the whites of the eyes, an enlarged spleen, and dark tea-colored urine.

Types of anemia:

 

There are many types of anemia. All are very different in their causes and treatments.

• Iron-deficiency anemia
• Vitamin deficiency anemia
• Anemia caused by chronic disease
• Aplastic anemia
• Leukemia
• Hemolytic anemia
• Sickle cell anemia

Iron-deficiency anemia, the most common type, is very treatable with diet changes and iron supplements. Some forms of anemia develops during pregnancy, some types of anemia may present lifelong health problems.

Tests

• Blood tests used to diagnose some common types of anemia may include
• Blood levels of vitamin B12, folic acid, and other vitamins and minerals
• Bone marrow examination
• Red blood count and hemoglobin level
• Reticulocyte count
• Ferritin level
• Iron level

Complications

Severe anemia can cause low oxygen levels in vital organs such as the heart, and can lead to a heart attack. 

Herbal Remedies for Anemia

 Eat the seeds of fenugreek as it is rich in iron. The leaves of fenugreek also help in blood formation.
2. Soak 1 teaspoon of the Black sesame seeds in warm water for a couple of hours, they should be ground and strained, and then mixed with a cup of milk and sweetened with jaggery or sugar. This emulsion should be given to patients suffering from anemia. Black sesame seeds are rich source of iron and works very effectively in the treatment of anemia.

Treatment:

Self-Care at Home

Very little can be done to self-treat anemia and medical treatment is generally needed. It is important to continue to take any medication that is prescribed for other chronic (long-lasting) medical problems. If the reason for anemia is known, then measures to keep it under control are very important. For example, if anemia is caused by a stomach ulcer, then medications such as aspirin or ibuprofen should be avoided, unless otherwise directed by a doctor.

Medical Treatment

Medical treatment of anemia varies widely and depends on the cause and the severity of anemia.If anemia is mild and associated with no symptoms or minimal symptoms, a thorough investigation by a doctor will be done in the outpatient setting (doctor's office). If any cause is found, then appropriate treatment will be started.

For example, if anemia is mild and is found to be related to low iron levels, then iron supplements may be given while further investigation to determine the cause of the iron deficiency is carried out. On the other hand, if anemia is related to sudden blood loss from an injury or a rapidly bleeding stomach ulcer, then hospitalization and transfusion of red blood cells may be required to relieve the symptoms and replace the lost blood. Further measures to control the bleeding may occur at the same time to stop further blood loss.

Blood transfusion may be required in other less critical circumstances as well. For example, an individual who is receiving chemotherapy for a cancer may be expected by the treating physician to have bone marrow problems related to the chemotherapy. Therefore, the doctor may check blood counts routinely, and if the levels get to a low enough level, he or she may order a red blood cell transfusion to help with the symptoms of anemia.

Corticosteroids or other medicines that suppress the immune system

Erythropoietin, a medicine that helps your bone marrow makes more blood cells

Supplements of iron, vitamin B12, folic acid, or other vitamins and minerals.

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