What Eye Problems Result From Albinism

Albinism refers to a group of inherited conditions. People with albinism have little or no pigment in the eyes, skin and hair. Besides looking different, which may cause social problems, albinos also have various impairments. In the most severe form of albinism (called oculocutaneous albinism), those affected appear to have hair, skin, and iris color that are white or pink as well as vision defects. This article mainly concentrates on the eye problems resulting from albinism. The eyes need melanin pigment to develop normal vision. Because of that people with albinism have impaired vision. The skin also needs pigment for protection from sun damage so albinos sunburn themselves very easily and have increased risk of getting skin cancer. Less common types of albinism can also involve other problems. Albinism often results extreme farsightedness or nearsightedness and astigmatism. Sight can be improved with glasses, however, normal or near normal vision is unusual even when glasses are worn. Other common eye impairments include nystagmus and strabismus. Nystagmus is an involuntary movement of the eyes back and forth. One way how some people cope with this problem is by using a head tilt. This decreases the movement and may improve vision. For nystagmus treatment eye muscle surgery is also an option however this does not help in all cases. Strabismus means that the eyes do not fixate and track together. In some cases the alignment of the eyes improves with the wearing of glasses. Young children are sometimes thought to use the non preferred eye more. This is done by patching the other eye. However treatment cannot correct the improper routing of the nerves to the brain. Photophobia also is a frequent disorder. In the case of photophobia the eyes are very sensitive to the sun. This can be coped with by wearing dark classes when exposed to the sun. Albinism treatment mainly aims to ease symptoms and depends on the extent of the disorder. The skin and eyes must be protected from the sun. Sunglasses (UV protected) may relieve photophobia. Sunburn risk can be reduced by avoiding the sun, by using sunscreens and covering completely with clothing when exposed to sun. Sunscreens should have a high SPF (sun protection factor).

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The Heart Disease: A Killer Lurking in our Body

If heart disease is an assassin he would be the highest paid in terms of the number of people it has killed. Crowned as the number one killer in America, the heart disease can also be easily averted if a body is well taken care of. A healthy heart can give its owner no worries. Some restrictions can easily avert a heart disease from happening. Staying away from fast food and junk food as well as greasy, high cholesterol laden foods can greatly decrease the risk of having a heart disease. Not only that, they can also prevent other diseases from happening. Fast foods are processed foods that have various harmful chemicals that contribute greatly to the development of a heart disease. Then there is smoking. Not only does smoking contribute highly to a good number of diseases, they are actually one of the highest contributors. Stopping smoking now gives your heart the chance to recoup whatever lost health it has given up. It doesn’t matter how long you have been hooked to smoking cigarettes and cigars, if you love yourself and your family, you have to give it up. It’s never late to give your health and your heart a chance to improve. Another obvious prevention is to exercise. Give the old ticker a workout. Keeping your body in shape can eliminate the fats deposited in it clearing up the passageway of your blood. Not only would you be preventing the heart disease you could also improve the way you feel and the way you look. You can do a variety of exercises that can fit in your schedule. An hour or two a day or even a couple of minutes can vastly improve your health. Talk to a trainer or a doctor; check out which ones you could do comfortably. You have only yourself to blame if you don’t act now.

Euphorbia Prostata Cures Hemorrhoids

Many suffer from it silently, without telling anyone about it. Piles, or swollen blood vessels in and around the anus and lower rectum that stretch under pressure symptomized most commonly by bleeding, is still considered a taboo subject. With fast-paced progress in medical science, however, piles is now being recognized more judiciously and scientifically at par with other medical problems. Whereas on one hand, awareness on the ailment, and on the fact that treatments are in fact available to alleviate it has increased, on the other hand, it has also led to the mushrooming of quacks making tall claims without any substance. Piles or hemorrhoids are very common in both men and women. According to available data, about half of the population has hemorrhoids by the age of 50. Hemorrhoids are also common among pregnant women. The pressure of the fetus in the abdomen, as well as hormonal changes, cause the hemorrhoidal vessels to enlarge. These vessels are also placed under severe pressure during childbirth. For most women, however, hemorrhoids caused by pregnancy are a temporary problem. Recent researches in India have now established that the herb, Euphorbia prostata, is very effective in treating piles and anal fissures. In a recent study conducted at the University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Punjab University, Chandigarh, as many as 32,000 patients of piles and anal fissures have been reported to have benefited from oral (capsule/tablet) and topical (cream/gel) forms of Euphorbia prostata. No significant side effects were reported. Following the studies initiated by BestOnHealth, an SBU of Delhi-based pharma major, Panacea Biotec, and the encouraging results of their succeeding monolithic study on 32,000 patients, the company in association with the Punjab University has recently patented the technology for extracting flavonoids from Euphorbia prostata, vide European patent no. EP 0868914. Based on this technology, BestonHealth has introduced India’s first hundred per cent integrated and natural piles management system called “Thank God”. The company has patented the product worldwide and plans to introduce it soon in Europe, Latin America and other parts of Asia. This integrated kit combines the benefits of flavonoids with those of naturally occurring ispaghulla husk, and comprises of a relief capsules, topical anytime cream, isphaghulla husk, a pain and relief cream, and an applicator. One of the major ingredients in Euphorbia prostata is flavonoids. Flavonoids have aroused considerable interest recently because of their potential beneficial effects on human health– they have been reported to have antiviral, anti-allergic, anti-platelet, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and antioxidant activities. In two other similar but more specific studies initiated in 2001 by BestOnHealth under the supervision of Dr. M.P. Arora of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Dr. V. K. Malik of Maulana Azad Medical College, 118 cases of bleeding hemorrhoids were administered Euphorbia prostata-based flavonoids at effective doses and were examined later at 5 and 10 days for improvement in symptoms related to piles. The objective of the study was to explore and certify the benefits of flavonoids extracted from Euphorbia prostata in piles management. The symptoms of piles pertained to anal discomfort and pain, discharge of mucous from anus (proctorhhea) and inflammation of the rectum (proctitis). At the end of the eight-month trial, the physicians observed a statistical difference in the cure rate profile among the patients selected. It was observed that patients who were given flavonoids achieved an overwhelmingly significant cure and relief from symptoms of bleeding piles when compared to patients in the controlled group (on placebo). It is now established that flavonoids extracted from Euphorbia prostata reduce bleeding, pain and inflammation associated with piles, and reduce itching. They also promote efficient wound healing. Euphorbia prostata has been found effective in the entire efficacy parameters of bleeding hemorrhoids and show minimal side-effects, with high tolerance among patients. Experts further suggest that these flavonoids work best in piles management when combined with other natural remedies like ispaghulla husk etc., and such an integrated approach also significantly reduces the risk of a relapse (recurrence) in piles. Experts opine that such a rationally formulated combination therapy seems to have an exponential and positive remedial effect, and may speed up recovery from the symptoms of piles. This would be a big relief for the many patients hitherto hiding their distressing anguish and suffering incessantly yet silently. The pain, it seems, is finally over.

Meningitis and Encephalitis: What’s the Difference?

«Meningitis» and «encephalitis» are two words that pop onto most people’s radar screens from time to time, and usually in some scary context, like hearing of a cluster of cases in their child’s school, or reading media reports of epidemics occurring nationally or internationally. While most people understand that these words mean there is some sort of infection of the nervous system, other distinctions and implications are often left unstated and, as a result, can be vague or confusing. The basic concepts are built into the words themselves. Starting at the ends of the words and working forwards, «-itis» is the medical suffix meaning inflammation. Although it’s possible for inflammation to occur without an infection being present, as a practical matter, in most cases of meningitis or encephalitis the inflammation is indeed due to an infection. The next step in understanding these concepts is to analyze the first parts of the words. «Mening-» refers to the meninges which are the membranous coverings of the brain and spinal cord. So «meningitis» means inflammation or infection of these membranous coverings. By contrast, «encephal-» refers to the encephalon or brain (originating from the Greek word «enkephalos»), so «encephalitis» means inflammation or infection of the brain itself. Although no case of meningitis or encephalitis is trivial, depending on the particulars, some cases end up as temporary illnesses from which there is full recovery, while others can be severely damaging or even lethal. In a nutshell, cases of meningitis caused by viruses are usually associated with good outcomes (even without treatment), while cases of meningitis involving bacteria are very serious and require emergency treatment with powerful antibiotics. All cases of encephalitis–usually caused by viruses and not by bacteria–are serious, and antiviral treatment is available for some of the viruses involved, but not all. Most cases of either meningitis or encephalitis start fairly abruptly, sometimes following an obvious infection elsewhere in the body and sometimes not. As with most infections, a fever is usually present in meningitis or encephalitis, but is not necessarily striking. In both cases the patient feels miserable in general and often complains of pain in the head, neck, or both. Because encephalitis involves infection of the brain itself, symptoms of altered brain function–like confusion or decreased alertness–are usually present, while in cases of meningitis the patient is initially alert and, though understandably distracted by pain and misery, still in command of their mental processes. In either case, prompt medical assessment is important. In both meningitis and encephalitis a lumbar puncture (also known as a spinal tap) is usually crucial in detecting the presence of an infection, identifying the infecting organism, and guiding successful treatment. While an imaging test like a CT scan or an MRI scan is often included as part of the evaluation, they do not replace the lumbar puncture in identifying the essential features of the infection. A lumbar puncture is usually performed with the patient lying on one side, curled into a fetal position. The doctor preps and drapes the patient’s lower back to create a sterile field in which to work. After numbing the skin of the lower back the doctor inserts a needle in the middle of the spine, puncturing the meninges. In the lower back there is no spinal cord, so there is no risk of puncturing it, too. Watery fluid is collected into tubes as it drips out of the back of the needle. Then the needle is withdrawn. This watery fluid is called CSF–short for cerebrospinal fluid–and because it resides within the meninges (and outside of the brain and spinal cord) it holds some of the keys to diagnosing the infection. Laboratory personnel can perform several tests on the fluid right away, like measuring the concentrations of red and white blood cells, as well as the concentrations of protein and sugar. An increase in concentration of white blood («pus») cells and an increase in protein concentration are expected findings when the meninges are infected by either bacteria or viruses, with the changes more pronounced in bacterial infections than in viral infections. Reductions in sugar concentration are common in bacterial but not viral infections. Other tests on the CSF involve inherent delays, like trying to grow bacteria from the CSF in Petri dishes or other culture media. In truth, cases of encephalitis also usually involve inflammation of the meninges, so a stickler for linguistic accuracy could rightly maintain that they should be called «meningo-encephalitis» to reflect the involvements of both meninges and brain. But in common usage, the «meningo-» prefix is often dropped. So because CSF changes occur in cases of both meningitis and encephalitis, the main clinical feature that separates the two is the patient’s mental state, with confusion or decreased level of consciousness making a strong case for encephalitis. Once the CSF has been collected, the doctor can begin treatment without risk of obscuring the fluid’s diagnostic features. So long as there is any likelihood of bacterial infection, the doctor administers one or more antibiotic drugs, usually via an intravenous catheter. If the clinical findings could also be interpreted as due to a treatable virus, the doctor concurrently administers an antiviral drug. With the seriousness of these illnesses, the benefits of over-treatment exceed its risks, and once the dust settles and the diagnosis is clarified, needless treatment can be discontinued without harm. (C) 2005 by Gary Cordingley

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