Health Tips » Diabetes

How to handle some medical emergencies during health crisis?

ashish — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:05:40 +0000

Medical emergencies are not pre-planned. They occur all of a sudden. There is an emergency room available in all hospitals. What can be done to handle some medical emergencies that occur all of a sudden is described below:

- Asthma
When the symptoms of asthma like wheezing, chest tightness, coughing, breath shortness worsens until he / she is unable to speak more than four words, blueness around lips and reliever medication is ineffective, person should be admitted to the emergency room in which he would be put on a nebuliser in which oxygen is directly delivered to the lungs. Oxygen mask can also be used.

- Heart Attack
Symptoms of heart attack include pain across chest, arms, jaws or neck and it does not lessen with rest, nausea, vomiting, difficulty in breathing, rapid weak and irregular pulse. Move to an emergency room and on the way to hospital chew a 160mg aspirin to stop clumping of blood platelets. In an emergency room, ECG is done and blood studies are done. Intravenous nitroglycerine reduces heart’s oxygen need and improves coronary circulation. The chance of death is halved if you reach in first hour.

- Fractures
When a fracture is suspected, pain worsens with the movement, that particular area swells, a limb is crooked. Transport to an emergency room very carefully. In the emergency room, x-ray of the limb is done and broken bone ends are treated.To relieve pain, a muscle relaxant is given. The area is immobilized with plaster cast or splint.

- Internal Bleeding
Sometimes, there is internal bleeding after an injury. Symptoms are pale and clammy skin, rapid weak pulse, shallow and rugged breathing, fainting, swelling, pain and tenderness. While you are waiting for ambulance to go to an emergency room, raise the legs and cover with blanket and do not offer an food or water. In an emergency room, the person is diagnosed and then treated.

- Diabetes
Sometimes, the blood sugar falls below 50 because of delayed and missed meals, sudden vigorous activities, irregular medications. It results in blurred vision, numbness, paleness, headaches, unconsciousness, tingling in lips and and fingers. When a person is admitted to an emergency room, the IV fluids are administered.

- Poison
Induce vomiting if poison is not in the form of kerosene, gasoline, turpentine, cleaning fluid, insect sprays. In an emergency room, urine and blood tests are done to identify the poison and specific antidotes are suggested.

- Urinary Retention
Sometimes a person has a full bladder but they could not urinate. When you are admitted to an emergency room, a catheter is inserted to allow the person to empty the bladder.

- Heat Exhaustion
It can hit you in a hot, noisy, smoke filled disco or pub resulting in loss of electrolytes. In an emergency room, patient is pumped with IV fluids to revive the blood pressure.

You are a diabetic – What is some of the most essential information you should know ?

ashish — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:02:51 +0000

All over the world, there is an increased focus among health professionals and medical specialists on getting people to take time out from their busy (and mostly sedentary) lives and focus on getting more on shape. All statistics point towards more and more people getting afflicted by obesity and more diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. In fact, a large number of people are afflicted with diabetes, where their blood sugar levels have a tendency to be higher than normal, and this increased sugar level can cause a number of other health related issues over a number of years. It is quite necessary to ensure that somebody who has diabetes is aware of some basic precautions (and have an enhanced level of information) about some critical areas. Some of these are:
- Know the glycemic index of foods you eat. Certain types of foods have a much higher glycemic content and can cause increase in blood sugar levels to the extent that they are deemed harmful and should be avoided. Know the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load of Foods
- Know about the timelines for food consumption and intake of medicines. For a diabetic, both hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia can be dangerous; so you need to ensure that the gaps between meals is not very large, as well as the prescribed medicine for diabetes is taken as per schedule
- Have a Glucometer: Having Glucometer at home allows you to quickly measure your blood sugar levels when you need to (this helps you to determine the pattern of your blood sugar levels over the day, as well as determine the impact of food and exercise on your blood sugar levels)
- Be wary of problems in your foot. Feet problems are particularly tough on diabetes because of reduced pain experience in the feet as well as more time taken for healing. Be careful of the footwear you buy, as well as ensuring that your feet are kept dry.
- Carry some form of identification of being a diabetic along with some text. This is particularly important if you are prone to get into hypoglycemia situations, so that if somebody finds you in a bad condition, they know to give you some immediate sugar.
- If ever you suffer some cuts or bruises, be sure to get them treated quickly else these cuts can actually cause huge problems to those suffering from diabetes
- If you need to take insulin for maintaining your blood sugar levels, then be sure to always have your Diabetes injection pen along with supplies ready.

Some quick tips for maintaining good health…

ashish — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:01:52 +0000

There are a lot of things one can do to get to a good healthy body. You can have a whole book dedicated to tips for maintaining a good health, but in today’s fast paced life, everybody looks for a summary rather than a whole novel. What we will try to do in this post is to look at some of the most common issues that can affect health and provide suggestions on how to overcome these issues.

- One of the major problem that a person face now-a-days is falling hair. Protein is very essential for maintaining good hair. To reduce hair fall, including good quality protein like soyabean or egg whites in the daily diet is very important. Also, taking vitamin B12 and consuming Brewer yeast tablets can help in reducing hair fall.

- Diabetes is getting so common now-a-days. Every second person is suffering from this disease. There are some simple tips that one can do at home to treat diabetes. One teaspoon of jamun powder or fenugreek seeds(methi) in the morning helps to reduce diabetes. Maintaining a good and healthy lifestyle is the most important measure that needs to be taken if one wants to get rid of this disease. Consumption of excess fat from your diet will improve the body’s insulin resistance.

- Constipation is another problem that people are facing now-a-days. To a greater extent, today’s lifestyle is responsible for an irregular bowel functioning. Consumption of junk food is increasing and also the stress level of the human being. Some simple tips to control constipation is to drink plenty of water daily and reduce the caffeine intake. Daily exercise which included walking for at least 45 min to 60 min is important. Also, include fresh vegetable juice in your diet.

- Dull skin can be a fairly common issue now-a-days. Some simple ways to address this issue is by ensuring that you drink enough water and fluids during the day to keep your skin hydrated. Drinking fresh vegetable juice and eating multiple servings of green vegetables and fruits during the day is also required. This needs to be supplemented with adequate amount of proteins, vitamin E and omega 3 supplements.

- To improve cardio vascular health, daily exercise which may include walking for atleast 45 min to 60 min at least 4-5 times a week is very important. In addition to walking, yoga and some breathing exercises three times a week reduces any kind of stress. In your diet, include one or two tbsp of roasted flaxseeds as it helps to increase the good cholesterol levels in the body.

- To improve metabolism, the most important tip that can be followed is eating during the first hour of having woken up. Walking is also very important to improve metabolism. Protein digestion asks the body to burn more calories and hence increasing the metabolism. So, include protein in your diet.

- To increase energy and immunity, instead of taking three big meals like breakfast, lunch, dinner, eat small frequent meals. It improves the digestion and keeps your body energetic. Include vitamin B12 supplements and wheat grass juice at least three to four times in a week.

- Discomfort during menopause is very common. To reduce it, include soya supplement in your diet as it mimics the estrogen function in the body. Also, include vitamin B6 as it prevents bloating.

What is Diabetes Insipidus? What are its causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment for diabetes insipidus?

ashish — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:23:15 +0000

Diabetes Insipidus is a rare disease caused by the failure of the kidneys to conserve water and stops filtering urine. Diabetes insipidus is not same as diabetes mellitus. This disease leads to excessive urination and thirst which is one common symptom between diabetes mellitus and insipidus. The fluid retention is managed by anti-diuretic hormone which is produced in the brain by hypothalamus as well as controlled by pituitary gland located at the bottom of the brain.

The extra fluid is removed through kidneys from bloodstream. This fluid is stored as urine in bladder. If the fluid regulation system is working properly, the kidneys make less urine when body is loosing water or at night when the metabolic rates are slow.

SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES INSIPIDUS
- Frequent urination.
- Colorless urine.
- Bed-wetting.
- Disruption is sleep.
- Dry skin and weakness.
- Fever.
- Vomiting.
- Diarrhea.

TYPES OF DIABETES INSIPIDUS
- Central Diabetes Insipidus : Head injury, infection, surgery and tumor can cause damage to the hypothalamus or pituitary gland that can cause central diabetes insipidus. It disrupts the storage and release of ADH.
- Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus : Kidneys do not respond to ADH. It can be caused due to some chronic disorders or some drugs.
- Dipsogenic Diabetes Insipidus : It is a rare form of diabetes insipidus and is caused when there is a defect or problem in the thirst mechanism. The thirst increases abnormally resulting in more urine output.
- Gestational Diabetes Insipidus : It occurs during pregnancy. It occurs when and enzyme made by the placenta destroys ADH in the mother.

DIAGNOSIS OF DIABETES INSIPIDUS
There is a possibility that diabetes mellitus can cause diabetes insipidus. Diagnosis includes:
- Physical examinations.
- Blood tests.
- Urinalysis is the physical and chemical examination of urine.
- Fluid deprivation test helps in determining whether diabetes insipidus is caused by excessive intake of fluid, defect in ADH production or defect in kidney’s response to ADH.

Complications may include dehydration, weakness, fatigue, low body temperature, kidney and brain damage, headaches.

Prevention includes drinking plenty of fluids, following a low salt diet, few medications may help. Treatment includes:
- Vasopressin can be taken to cure central diabetes insipidus.
- Stopping the medication can treat nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.
- Hereditary nephrogenic diabetes insipidus is treated with fluid intake to match urine output and drugs that lower urine output.

Proper treatment of your feet if you have Diabetes – precautions to take – Part 3

ashish — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:05:36 +0000

In the previous post in this blog (Diabetes and feet care), I have been pointing out a series of steps that need to be taken if you have diabetes and are necessary for the proper protection of your feet. The previous series of steps are more important in terms of finding out if you have problems in your feet; further, there are also steps outlined in terms of the daily and regular care necessary for preventing something from happening. In this post, I will outline some of the precautions necessary for buying your shoes and other foot wear:
- When you are buying your shoes / sandals or other footwear, then make sure that there are no rough edges inside the footwear; these can cause irritation to your feet and lead to further problems.
- Avoid shoes or sandals that are open from the front, such as flip-flops and open sandals. These expose the toes to a lot of wear and tear and can cause injury.
- Always buy footwear that is comfortable and easy on the feet. Even if a piece of footwear looks fashionable, if you are diabetic, then you should look at comfort first and fashion later. Many people buy shoes that are a bit tight in the belief that the shoe will loosen up later – this is something that may or may not happen. Unless you know for sure that this will happen, avoid buying such footwear.
- Do not wear shoes or sandals that cause your toes to become constricted, such as those shiny pointy leather shoes that are pointed in the front. These can cause damage to the front part of your feet over a period of time.
- This may seem very obvious, but ladies really need to avoid these high heels that put a lot of strain on the ankle.
- The foot expands and contracts a bit during the day, and swells a bit during the day, being the biggest in the evening. That is the time when you should buy your footwear, because if your footwear is comfortable at this time, then it will be comfortable all through the day.

Proper treatment of your feet if you have Diabetes – precautions to take – Part 2

ashish — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:06:44 +0000

In the previous post (Diabetic and foot precautions), I had written about some of the checks that a person should do if they are suffering from diabetes in terms of ensuring that their feet remain healthy. For a person with diabetes, the high blood sugar means that there is some impact on the blood vessels as well as on the nervous system, both of which can cause problems to the feet. In this post, I will post some steps that a person should take to ensure that you reduce the probability of something bad happening to your feet:
- Make sure that you check your feet on a regular basis, preferably on a daily basis. You can use mirrors to see under your toes. If you find some instances of pain that remains, any instances of numbness or tingling, or redness, then make sure that you check with your doctor.
- Avoid your feet being exposed to too much hot or cold. Remember, when your nerves have got affected to some degree by diabetes, it can be harder to make out whether the water is too hot or too cold
- Avoid being barefoot
- When you are wearing your socks or stockings, dust your feet lightly with some powder (medicated powder); talk to your doctor
- Make sure that you cut your toenails straight, else you risk getting ingrown toenails.
- Make sure that you dry your feet well after a bath, or any other occasion when your feet get wet, including drying the portion between the toes (pat your feet with a towel)
- Be careful to avoid your feet getting too dry, since that will cause your feet to crack, and that is something that you want to avoid
- If you smoke, then you should stop. Smoking contributes to a reduction in the blood flow to the feet.
- Be careful about your choice of shoes. If you see shoes that have pointed ends, these can impact the blood pressure to the toe region of your feet. Wear shoes that give space to the toe region of your feet.
- It is preferable to wear shoes made of material that allows the movement of air, such as leather or suede or canvas. Plastic shoes do not allow the transfer of air and can impact your feet.
- If you live in a cold region, then wear socks to bed. You need to prevent hot or cold danger to your feet.

Causes and symptoms of Diabetes – Natural Home Remedies for Curing diabetes

ashish — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:16:28 +0000

In Ayurveda, diabetes is known as madhumeha. It is classified as kapha type disorder. When body is not able to synthesize sugar because of the absence of insulin, the sugar gets absorbed and accumulated in blood and the blood sugar level increases leading to diabetes. Some causes of diabetes listed in ayurveda are:
- stress and mental tension.
- poor digestion and nutrition.
- nervous system problems.
- obesity.
The symptoms of diabetes include feeling hungry and thirsty, frequent urination, weight gain or loss, eyesight loss, tiredness, nerves problem, wounds not healing.

In Ayurveda, treatment for diabetes focuses more on yoga, diet and exercise. The treatment is on multiple levels. Initially, they start the treatment by balancing the diet pattern which includes no sugar, less carbohydrates and fats. After this, ayurvedic treatment called panchkarma is given or sometimes the ayurvedic treatment is decided based on the condition of the patient.

Some herbs that can be used to cure diabetes are :
- Some ayurvedic medicines recommended for diabetes are Vasanta kusumakara and Shilajatu.
- Juice of bitter gourd daily empty stomach.
- Turmeric along with aloevera is an effective remedy.
- Fenugreek, white pepper and turmeric taken with milk or honey is effective.
- Swallow garlic without chewing.
- Amla controls blood sugar.
- Neem juice is also an effective remedy.

Some precautions that need to be taken are:
- Avoid yourself from any kind of injury as healing becomes difficult for a person who is suffering from diabetes.
- Avoid fatty food.
- Maintain a good lifestyle and a healthy diet.
- Take good care of feet and eyes.
- Avoid sleeping in day time.
- Avoid high carbohydrate diet.

Proper treatment of your feet if you have Diabetes – precautions to take

ashish — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 18:57:02 +0000

If you have diabetes, taking care of your feet is one of the important items that your doctor will recommend. Well, for the uninformed of you, what is the relation between your feet and diabetes ? Well, diabetes can cause problems to your blood flow and the vessels through which your blood flows, and also cause problems in your nervous system. These are the various problems that cause further problems in the legs of people afflicted with diabetes, and this is what I am going to write about:
- With the impact that the high sugar levels have on the blood vessels, the flow of blood to the feet get impacted, decreasing the blood flow to the leg. With the reduced circulation of blood, there are further problems that are caused. The skin gets impacted, and the tendency to develop ulcers increases. Further, the high level of sugar in the blood can cause a higher level of infection by organisms such as bacteria and fungii.
- With the damage to the nervous system due to diabetes, the person may have a reduced level of feeling in the legs. Thus, when any kind of infection occurs in the leg, or any other problem such as a blister or a sore; the person may not notice that such a problem has occurred and result in neglect of the problem. Neglect in turn leads to development of deeper sores and ulcers, and by this time, you are in serious problem.
With these problems, a neglected problem can lead to deeper infections that in turn causes decay of the tissue, with the onset of gangrene. Ignoring this will typically require a trip to the hospital to get the gangrene treated, but if the gangrene has spread (and diabetes does reduce the ability of the body to heal from such infections), then this will require amputation of the affected area – this could be a toe, or could be the entire leg. And this is not an empty warning, there is a minor percentage of diabetes patients who have had to have this sort of amputation.

What do you do ?
Well, the first and most important item is to get your diabetes under control, and not have a high level of sugar in the blood. Controlled levels of sugar in the blood causes the body to heal faster, and reduce the number of ulcers that get formed; there is also a decrease in the speed of nerve damage. Get the required amount of physical exercise to ensure that your blood sugar has more incentive to remain normal.

Some more items that you need to do to ensure that your feet remain well and healthy:
Examine your feet at least once an year medically. I don’t mean that you look at your feet once a year, what I mean is to schedule an appointment with a diabetologist for examination of your feet. During this examination, the expert will check the foot for poor circulation, skin changes, ulcers, deformities, nerve damage, and so on. The expert will also check the reflexes of your feet. If you are seeing some sort of problems with your feet, then you should check with your expert.

Diabetes – Is ayurveda the right choice to cure this disease?

ashish — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:44:54 +0000

Disclaimer: Diabetes is an affliction that requires regular medicines, and physical exercise. If you take alternative treatments, then you consult your physician before making any changes.

Diabetes is a nutritional disorder in which blood glucose level is increased. Diabetes can affect different organs of the body if not controlled on time. For controlling diabetes, it is necessary that a person takes the requirement medical treatment (whether that be insulin, or some medicine), and through regular physical exercise. However, all this ensures that you can get your diabetes under control and lead a normal life, but you will still need to exercise the regular amount of caution (such as staying away from sugar and starchy substances, getting regular amount of exercise, and so on). Hence, there are a lot of questions about whether alternate medical methods such as Ayurveda can cure diabetes. Further, you will find web sites that claim that Ayurveda can cure diabetes, but should you believe them ? After all, you are taking a risk with your own life.
In Ayurveda, diabetes is known as madhumeha. It is classified as a ‘kapha’ type of disorder, and further classified into 20 different types of diabetes. Most ayurvedic treatments promise you relief from the medicines that you need to control your diabetes, but do not actually claim that they can cure diabetes. The treatment prescribed as per Ayurveda does require you to change your lifestyle, and your diet to some degree. The details of this treatment are:

Diet changes:
- Bring down or eliminate the consumption of sugar, rice, potato, bananas and other form of high sugar fruits.
- Start the consumption of more of food stuffs such as green vegetables, soy, gram, cucumber, bitter gourd, Bengal Gram, onion and garlic, raw vegetables (after cleaning them thoroughly)

Lifestyle changes:
- Start doing Yoga on a regular basis
- Get regular physical exercise, which can also mean something like 30 minutes brisk walk per day
- Avoid sleeping in the daytime
- Get around 7-8 hours of sleep per day
- Give up bad habits such as smoking

When you start doing these for some time, and feel an improvement in your health, get your blood sugar level checked. If you find that your blood sugar levels start getting reduced and in control, consult your doctor to get your medicine levels reduced.

What are different health benefits of having flax seeds in your daily diet?

ashish — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:02:05 +0000

The scientific name of flax seeds is Linum Usitatissimum which means very useful. This is a very appropriate name for this fiber rich seed. Similar to sesame seeds in appearance, it is also available in the form of oil.
Flaxseeds are rich in fiber and omega3 fatty acid in the form of alpha linolenic acid, minerals like iron, manganese, copper magnesium and phosphorus it also contains Vitamin B6. For the tiny seeds this indeed is a long list of nutrients which give it the importance it so well deserves in the nutritional chart.
The health benefits of flax seeds are mainly the reason why it has become indispensable to so many cuisines. Some of the health benefits one can get from flax seeds are discussed below.

Anti inflammatory
The main constituent of the flax seed is omega3 fats which is one of the essential fatty acids required but not produced by the body. Omega3 fat is used by the body to produce a specific set of anti inflammatory prostaglandins series 1 and 2 (a chemical associated with pain). Thus an intake of these seeds in the diet can significantly help reduce pain in conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, headaches and other inflammatory conditions.

Cardiovascular health
A flax seed, rich in omega-3 fat which is a poly unsaturated fatty acid, helps in fighting deposits of cholesterol by breaking them down. These cholesterol deposits may cause blood to clot thereby increasing the chances of cardiovascular diseases.

Increase in the concentration
Omega-3 fats have shown to also help in increasing the concentration levels of the brain. Omega 3 fat works by increasing the flexibility of the lipid membranes of the cells allowing a greater number of neurotransmitters to be transferred between nerve cells. This higher level of transfer allows faster simulation or reaction allowing you to think and react faster. This seed has also shown potential in the treatment of attention deficit disorder.

Laxative
Flaxseeds are rich in fiber content because of which it acts as an excellent laxative. Flax seeds are also recommended for any constipation issues.

Post menopausal health
These seeds if taken regularly help in regulating the estrogen levels in women post menopause and help to protect them from coronary heart disorders and bone loss arising out of estrogen imbalance.

Weight loss
Flax seeds are recommended for people trying to lose weight. These tiny seeds expand in the stomach when ingested; therefore, eating these seeds some time before meal can reduce ones appetite significantly, thereby reducing the amount of food eaten.

Prevents cancer
Recent studies have shown that flax seeds have about 27 chemical compounds in them which can prevent cancer. Flax seeds have always been recommended to reduce the possibilities of prostrate cancer and breast cancer, this is due to the impact it has in the production of the sexual hormones. Research has further shown that flax seeds help in preventing the spread of melanoma.

Diabetes
Another health benefit of flax seed is that it helps to regulate the level of insulin in the blood thus helping in maintaining blood sugar levels.

Skin care
Apart from all these health benefits of flax seeds, it is also recommended to overcome dryness of skin. Rich with vitamins and minerals this seed is known to help in treating eczema and psoriasis as well.

Due to the attention that this tiny seed has garnered for it capabilities to ward off a variety of health risks, many research institutes are working further to understand how it functions to help develop life saving drugs. Making it a part of your daily diet can definitely help you to live a healthier life. It is very cost effective and easy to prepare as well, just sprinkle a few seeds over your food or add it in a powdered form to your health drink.