PHARMA GUIDE OF KARACHI(PAKISTAN)

THEIR ARE HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES WORKING IN KARACHI IN PHARMACEUTICALS.............pharmacy tech IS BEING USED IN THESE COMPANIES,
THEIR IS NO pharmacy tech school AVAILABLE IN KARACHI PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
NEITHER THEIR IS AN online pharmacy tech school AVAILABE IN PAKISTAN.........BUT THE METHOD WHICH THESE COMPANIES USE IS target pharmacy.........

COSMETIC SURGERY

Browlift Pre-Operative Care

Several choices need to be made about the type of browlift to be done. In patients with good skin elasticity, an endoscopic browlift can often be performed. This operation makes three to five small incisions in the hairline, then releases and pulls the brows up. Frown lines and wrinkles of the forehead and brows can also be treated through the endoscopic approach. The endoscopic browlift, however, has a limited range of effectiveness and may not be powerful enough for some patients in NJ with significant brow drooping.

When skin needs to be cut away, there are three standard approaches: a temporal browlift with two small hairline incisions; an anterior hairline browlift, with one longer hairline incision; and a coronal incision over the top of the head. At the consultation in NJ, the best options for your situation will be discussed.

No aspirin, ibuprofen, or similar drugs should be taken within two weeks of the browlift in New Jersey surgery. These medications can cause serious excess bleeding during, and after, the operation. If you have any questions about drugs you are taking, including over-the-counter preparations and natural herbs, please call the office.

Do not eat or drink anything after midnight of the night before your surgery. This prohibition includes coffee and juice in the morning. Oral medications can be taken with a sip of water.

Facelifts

Facelifts are designed to provide a more youthful appearance. This is accomplished by removing excess facial and neck skin, as well as lifting areas of sagging skin and fat back to where they were when you were younger. Our facial rejuvenation can be done in the office surgery center or at the hospital in New Jersey. Mini-facelifts, aimed specifically at correcting facial jowls, can almost always be done in the office.f you are having a full facelift, you should be at the office surgicenter or hospital at least 90 minutes prior to your scheduled surgical start time. Bring all paperwork from the office with you, as many of these papers will save time on the day of surgery. Mini-facelift patients should be at the office 1 hour prior to the scheduled start time.

Before the surgery, lines will be drawn on your face to guide the incision placement. A small strip of hair may be shaved on the sides and back of your head and rubber bands may be used to keep your hair away from the incisions.

During the procedure, the skin of the face will be lifted and the layer beneath the skin (SMAS) will be tightened. The skin will then be redraped in an upward fashion and the excess skin cut away. Fat may be removed from the area below the chin if needed. Additional fat may be taken from the abdomen and injected to facial lines around the mouth to help rejuvenate the area. Additional fat is often added to the lips to correct thinning that comes with age. A small piece of cartilage may be taken from your ear and placed at the base of the nose near the upper lip. This helps correct the look of an aging, drooping, nose and keeps your entire face looking younger with minimal pain or expense.

At the end of the procedure drains will often be placed and a soft wrap put around your head to help prevent blood/fluid collections. If you have also had eyelid surgery, a cold pack will be placed over your eyes.

cincinnati cosmetic surgery

Cosmetic surgery is usually performed to correct a physical abnormality or to enhance an otherwise normal physical feature and thus improve appearance. Cosmetic surgery is an extremely broad field that may offer reconstructive surgery for a patient after a damaging burn or other physical trauma, yet can also be used to smooth out wrinkles, enlarge breasts, or reshape a nose. In the not so distant past, cosmetic surgery was confined only to surgery which was absolutely necessary to the health and well-being of the patient -- for instance, skin-grafting for serious burns, reconstructing a dislodged eye, repairing a broken nose or jaw, or treating an unseemly birthmark across the face. Cosmetic surgery was first used regularly after World War I, when treatment and reconstruction of war injuries gave hope to young soldiers.

As recently as fifty years ago, as the rich and famous began opting for elective cosmetic surgery, the subject was whispered about and considered taboo. Celebrities and others in elite circles would disappear for months and then emerge after secret cosmetic surgery looking younger, prettier, and thinner. Over time, cosmetic surgery has become accepted and even encouraged in some circles. Today there is open acceptance of cosmetic surgery to the point that there are even television reality shows about it. There are a wide range of choices for cosmetic surgery, from tiny tucks and snips to full-blown face lifts.

The Most Expensive Health Care System in the World

America has the best health care system in the world, said Bob Dole and the other executioners of health care reform. Once upon a time that claim was true. Now what America has is the most expensive health care system in the world, in spite of the fact that it leaves one-third of its citizens un- or under-insured and ranks 17th of the 24 industrialized nations in life expectancy.

The major reason for the high expense and poor performance is that we are moving rapidly toward an unholy combination of government and corporate health care management. That trend is well documented by Robert Sherrill in the January 9/16 issue of The Nation. Sherrill draws together 11 recent books and articles on drug companies, insurers, hospitals, and doctors. He shows a system that views patients as consumers to be manipulated, health workers as costs to be minimized, and taxpayer support as gold to be mined.

Here are just a few of Sherrill's startling statistics:

- The top executives of the the nation's four largest hospital chains earned a combined one-year total of $14 million, while they were firing housekeepers and nurses and working the remaining nurses 80 hours a week, so as to pay only one set of benefits for the equivalent of two workers. These hospitals rent "temp" nurses, when patient loads rise. The temps may be unqualified, but they don't get benefits and can be laid off quickly.

- Four corporations own seven out of ten of the nation's for-profit psychiatric beds. They treat only insured patients. The treatments take, with remarkable regularity, 28 days -- the cut-off for most employee insurance policies. Some of the major investors in these psychiatric hospitals are insurance companies.

- Private hospitals close emergency rooms to keep out uninsured patients. Meanwhile at public emergency rooms like that of the Los Angeles County Hospital, the average wait is three hours, and 40 percent of the patients are uninsured.

Ventricular tachycardia

Normal heart rhythm

Heart, section through the middle

Hereditary Orthopedic Diseases in Dogs

Do you ever read about a dog breed and discover that a particular breed can be prone to a number of diseases - most of which you can't understand? Are you in the process of choosing a dog and you want to know which breed-specific hereditary disease that the breeder should have screened out in the breeding stock?

Most breeders spend a lot of time and resources trying to get rid of genetic diseases in their lines. However, some amateur breeders and puppy mills are breeding dogs without screening the parents and perpetuating poor genetic health.

This article is not exhaustive but will attempt to describe some common hereditary musculoskeletal diseases and indicate some of the dog breeds that have shown a tendency to inherit these diseases in the past. Since so many dogs have inherited orthopedic problems, these disorders are extremely well researched and studied. If you want to check on a particular dog breed you can go to www.dog-breed-facts.com and search on a particular breed for its health issues.

There are a number of common inherited diseases for which reputable breeders screen their breeding stock. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) has specialists evaluate X-rays, DNA, thyroid, cardiac and other tests and register the results. A prospective pure-bred puppy buyer should ask to see the OFA results for the dog's sire and dam.

Chondrodysplasia or dwarfism in the legs is a disease that causes malformation of the carpal and radius bones of the front legs resulting in a stunted and bowed look. Puppies born with this disease do not show any signs until they grow older. The disease can be painful and often the only choice is to euthanize the dog. This disease is most common in the Alaskan malamute and the Beagle.

Elbow dysplasia is a hereditary disease in which the elbow joints of the front legs are malformed. Lameness usually makes its appearance around 7 to 10 months of age and is treated by anti-inflammatories and also surgery. All breeds are susceptible to the disease but it is most common in large male breeds. These breeds include the: Basset hound, Bernese mountain dog, Bloodhound, Bouvier des Flandres, Chow Chow, German shepherd, Golden retriever, Great Pyrenees, Irish wolfhound, Labrador retriever, Mastiff, Rottweiler, Saint Bernard and Weimaraner.

Hip dysplasia is a disorder that results when there is a loose fit of the 'ball and socket' hip joint and the ball may continuously slide part way out of the socket. Over time this will cause osteoarthritis in the joint and the dog will become lame and weak in the hind end. Some relief can be found with the use of nutriceuticals such as glucosamine and chondroitin, and anti-inflammatories. Some cases are so bad that the dog must have surgery or be euthanized. Ensuring that your dog isn't overfed and overweight can delay the onset of hip dysplasia. Larger breeds that grow fastest during the first four months seem to be more prone to this disease. Hip dysplasia is the most common inherited orthopedic disease in large and giant breeds and many medium-sized breeds as well.

Dialysis Machine

CT SCAN MACHINE

Nano Technology

Nano Technology

Nano Technology is a growing field that is still being explored. The idea that bacteria sized machines can be programmed to do a specific function is both exciting and scarey. The Grew Goo idea, is that if a machine's only purpose was to copy itself, it could potentially be a destructive force like a virus or cancer. Machines that use resources to make more machines could potentially create a destructive domino effect.

ohmeda 5250 rgm 5 gas

Rapid Response HUT Tilt Table for Syncope Testing

donating umbilical cord blood

But keep in mind: cord blood donation requires simple, advanced preparation, and the obstetrician must act immediately after the umbilical cord is clamped and cut. Fortunately, the donated blood is withdrawn from the umbilical cord after it is detached, so there is no discomfort for the mother or baby.

Yet, most delivery room doctors discard life-saving cord blood as medical waste, even though cord blood donation is desperately needed by tens of thousands of people who have life-threatening illnesses.

Here's the point: the blood in an umbilical cord consists of stem cells that can "transform" into various types of healthy cell tissue. That tissue may be a treatment for many serious illnesses, including leukemia and other cancers, sickle cell disease, brain tumors, and osteoporosis. In the future, stem cells from donated cord blood may also be used to treat Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and diabetes.

What is cholera?

Cholera is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but sometimes it can be severe. Approximately one in 20 infected persons has severe disease characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. In these persons, rapid loss of body fluids leads to dehydration and shock. Without treatment, death can occur within hours.

Best guide to buy health insurance india

Best Guide to Buy Health Insurance, Choose the best health insurance policy for your family, online insurance policies, group health care insurance coverage, health insurance in India, health insurance plans, health insurance quote, health insurance policy from India, indian health insurance policy, Indian health insurance websites that offers low cost and easy health insurance services in India, individual healthcare insurance, Mediclaim India, Overseas Travel Insurance, personal accident insurance, Senior citizen health insurance, Health Insurance Policy from General insurance company in India, health insurance policy for tax saving, Health insurance broker-Delhi,Mumbai,Chennai,Kolkata,Pune,India

to tags: buy health insurance india general insurance company india health is wealth what is health insurance benefits of health insurance health insurance plan individual health insurance family health insurance

International Health Insurance Benefit Details

The Concordia Health Insurance Plan for International Students is a comprehensive health and accident insurance plan at a competitive cost, specifically designed for international students which meets Quebec government standards. Students may opt to take couple or family coverage at an additional cost.

The Concordia Health Insurance Plan for International Students covers, amongst others, the following expenses:
• hospital;
• medical charges and consultations by doctors and specialists;
• pregnancy (only if pregnancy commences after the start date of the health insurance plan);
• eye examination;
• psychiatric services;
• drugs and medicines.

Family Health Insurance

Know The Details of Your Policy

When you are shopping for family health insurance, the plan details that are available to you are just an overview of the details of the policy. You are provided with a summary of benefits, but not all of the details of the policy. This may be available to you upon request, but is typically not provided until you have been approved for coverage and become a plan member. For group health insurance, the insurance company will send you the health plan details once you have enrolled in the group health plan. The plan details, also referred to as "evidence of coverage," is a booklet that provides you with all of the details about the plan in which you are enrolled. This will include a list of all the medical benefits that are covered under your family health plan, but in much greater detail than a standard benefit summary

Health Insurance Details Screaming "You need me'

When buying a health insurance policy there are sure to be some details that scream "you need me.' If you ignore these calls you may not get the policy that you want. Every consumer is going to want something different from their health insurance policy. You need to know what you want, and when you find details that call your name, you need to listen. Ignoring something that you need from a health insurance perspective is only going to make things worse.

One detail that you never want to overlook is your deductible. This is perhaps one of the most important aspects of any health insurance policy. With a low deductible you will not have to pay a lot of money out of your own pocket before your policy kicks in and your provider begins to pay. But at the same time, increasing your deductible is one of the easiest ways to decrease your premium. So as you can see, this is a detail that you need to consider on many different levels. What is most important to you? A lower deductible or a lower premium?

In addition to your deductible, other details will also scream your name. For instance, you do not want to overlook smaller details, such as prescription coverage, because you are spending too much time with those that are "more important.' As you know, prescription drugs can be expensive. Without coverage in this area you will end up spending a lot of money if you ever need a prescription drug.

No matter what type of consumer you are, there are sure to be some details that scream your name before you purchase a health insurance policy. Do not ignore these calls. Instead, listen to them and buy your next policy with them in mind. By doing this you will ensure that you get the best deal

eligibility for health insurance

veryone is eligible for health insurance but there are few exceptions like health condition, Tobacco usage, age, and employment. In order to get the quotes you just need to fill up a short form, which requires some details. It is quite easy to get the health insurance plan online and compare the quotes within seconds, as it is quick, and an easy way to find the affordable quotes. Whether you are looking for an individual health plan or family health plan, there are many insurance companies that offer exclusive deals.

types OF HEALTH INSURANCE

There are many types of health insurance plans that are offered by the insurance companies, all you need is to check out and compare. Whether you are looking for individual, group, business or family insurance plans you will get everything just few clicks away. It is quite important that whenever you plan to purchase a policy from any company make sure and do cheek out whether the insurance company is licensed to do the business in your state or not. Most of the time it happens that discount and low cost deals attract people but sometimes some companies are fraud. There are various sources to find out the insurance policy quotes like either by a phone call, as the numbers are given in the television and newspaper advertisement. Another way is to find the quotes online from the sites of the insurance companies and don’t forget it to compare too. Some people get satisfied in face-to-face meeting, so such people can contact to the brokers and the agents with whom one can easily discuss the pros and cons of various policies that are provided by the insurance companies.

Health Insurance Plans

The health is the most precious and the valuable thing for every individual, and so everyone takes really good care of it and must take care of it. There are times when unexpected health problem occurs and it is difficult to pay unexpected bills. People who have savings can easily bear the unexpected medical expenses while there are some people who don’t have much savings to spend on these unexpected bills.

Health Insurance

Health insurance relates to a group of insurance policies which pay for health-related costs when the need arises and according to how each policy is written. There are many types of health insurance policies.(mesothelioma attorneys)

Individual VS Group Health Insurance

There are two general categories of health insurance available today: individual and group. Generally, a good health insurance policy will cover several types of medical requirements. For physician’s fees, insurance should cover both office and hospital visits. In relation to the hospital, insurance should pay for your room and your services while there, although some treatments may be written into the policy as optional.(donating umbilical cord blood) Surgical fees and related costs, as well as lab and x-ray ( services, are usually covered also. There are many options that can be written into a policy. Whether you are shopping for either individual or group insurance, you should put thought into the specifics of what you and your family need.

Why Buy Health Insurance?

The need for health insurance was recognized in the early part of the 20th century. The main reason to have it is simple: it can prevent you from facing financial ruin if there is a catastrophic illness or accident involving you or your family. At such a time, it is hard enough to deal with your health problems without the added knowledge that huge medical bills are exhausting your savings and future financial independence. You probably already know health insurance is something you should never be without.

HEALTH INSURANCE

Impartial

Expatriate Insurance Services is one of the world's leading, international health insurance intermediaries. We provide free impartial advice on international health insurance for expatriates of all nationalities living and working around the world.(best term life insurance rates)

Comprehensive

We have a wide selection of international healthcare plans available at our finger tips, provided by worldwide international health insurance companies. We believe in quality over quantity and therefore only select the best expatriate health insurance providers to represent. We provide a range of quality individual plans and tailor-made international healthcare schemes for corporate groups, with one common feature, all plans offer exceptional value for money combined with comprehensive benefit packages.

Choice

Our free consulting service will help you choose from the many international healthcare plans on the market and ultimately select the one which best suits your own particular circumstances. The premiums you pay will be the same as going direct to the provider (in some cases they might be less) but more importantly, you will have the benefit of choice and our impartial advice on the various international health insurance plans to assist you in selecting the right policy.

Dialysis-Related Amyloidosis(kidney cancer stones)

Normal kidneys filter and remove excess small proteins from the blood, thus keeping blood levels normal. When the kidneys don't work properly, as in patients receiving dialysis, one type of small protein calle beta-2-microglobulin builds up in the blood. When this occurs, beta-2-microglobulin molecules may join together, like the links of a chain, forming a few very large molecules from many smaller ones. These large molecules can form deposits and eventually damage the surrounding tissues and cause great discomfort. This condition is called dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA).

DRA is relatively common in patients, especially older adults, who have been on hemodialysis for more than 5 years. Hemodialysis membranes that have been used for many years don't effectively remove the large, complex beta-2-microglobulin proteins from the bloodstream. Newer hemodialysis membranes, as well as peritoneal dialysis, remove beta-2-microglobulin more effectively, but not enough to keep blood levels normal. As a result, blood levels remain elevated, and deposits form in bone, joints, and tendons (the tissue that connects the muscle to the bone). DRA may result in pain, stiffness, and fluid in the joints. Patients with DRA may also develop hollow cavities, or cysts, in some of their bones; these may lead to unexpected bone fractures. Amyloid deposits may cause tears in ligaments and tendons. Most patients with these problems can be helped by surgical intervention.

Half of the people with DRA also develop a condition called carpal tunnel syndrome, which results from the unusual buildup of protein in the wrists. Patients with this condition may experience numbness or tingling, sometimes associated with muscle weakness, in their fingers and hands. This is a treatable condition.

Amyloidosis and Kidney Disease

Proteins are important building blocks for all body parts, including muscles, bones, hair, and nails. Proteins circulate throughout the body in the blood and are normally harmless. Occasionally, cells produce abnormal proteins that can settle in body tissue, forming deposits and causing disease. When these deposits of abnormal proteins were first discovered, they were called amyloid, and the disease process amyloidosis.

In recent years, researchers have discovered that different kinds of proteins can form amyloid deposits and have identified several types of amyloidosis. Two of these types are closely related to kidney disease. In primary amyloidosis, abnormal protein production occurs as a first step and can lead to kidney disease. Dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA), on the other hand, is a result of kidney disease.

Skin Cancer(cancer research uk )

illusration of SKIN layers

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is one of the world's leading infectious killers - second only to HIV/AIDS. The 2007 WHO Global TB Control Report, which will be issued on Thursday 22 March 2007, updates the current trends on the airborne disease with all the very latest data from nearly 200 countries.

In the wake of the newly-identified extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and continuing challenges such as TB and HIV co-infection,peritoneal mesothelioma the 2007 WHO Global TB Control Report underlines the major issues affecting TB patients, health workers and governments today. This year's report also highlights achievements in reaching global 2005 TB targets set by the World Health Assembly.mesothelioma lawyers

The launch is prior to World TB Day, held every year on 24 March. This year's theme is: "TB Anywhere is TB Everywhere".

The Global TB Control Report will be released on the WHO website on Thursday 22 March 2007 (12:00 GMT) and also in various cities with key speakers from WHO and the Stop TB Partnership.

Virus

Virus infection

Bacteriums

MRI MACHINE PROCESS

CT SCAN MACHINE

Microscopic Image of Secondary AIDS Infection

bird flue spores

Illustration of asthma 7-654

Breast cancer(medifast weight loss)

Cancer diagnosis : Now in 3-D - 2009-03-13

Cancer diagnosis : Now in 3-D - 2009-03-13

ORLANDO - University of Washington researchers have helped develop a new kind of microscope to visualize cells in three dimensions, an advance that could bring great progress in the field of early cancer detection. The technique could also bridge a widening gap between cutting-edge imaging techniques used in research and clinical practices, researchers said. Eric Seibel, a UW mechanical engineering associate professor, and his colleagues have worked in collaboration with VisionGate, Inc., a privately held company in Gig Harbor, Wash., that holds the patents on the technology. The machine works by rotating the cell under the microscope lens and taking hundreds of pictures per rotation, and then digitally combining them to form a single 3-D image. The 3-D visualizations could lead to big advances in early cancer detection, since clinicians today identify cancerous cells by using 2-D pictures to assess the cells' shape and size. "It's a lot easier to spot a misshapen cell if you can see it from all sides," Seibel said. "A 2-D representation of a 3-D object is never perfectly accurate -- imagine trying to get an exact picture of the moon, seeing only one side." The new microscope, known by the trademarked name Cell-CT, is so named because it works similarly to a CT-scan -- though on a very small scale, and using visible light instead of X-rays. In a CT-scan, the patient is immobile while the X-ray machine rotates. In the Cell-CT microscope, each cell is embedded in a special gel inside a glass tube that rotates in front of a fixed camera that takes many pictures per rotation. The gel has similar optical properties to the tube's so that no light reflects off the glass. In both processes, the end result is that hundreds of pictures are assembled to form a 3-D image that can be viewed and rotated on a computer screen. The new 3-D microscope also helps to bring imaging techniques from the lab to the doctor's office. Although great advances have been made in microscope technology through the years, clinicians have been using essentially the same technique for cancer diagnoses for the last 300 years, Seibel said. Pathologists today still use a cell stain invented in the 1700s to examine sections of suspected cancers. Pathologists do not use any of the newer fluorescent molecular dyes that produce the precise, detailed cellular portraits found in biology journals.

breast cancer synthesis

Breast Cancer Statistics

• Breast cancer incidence in women in the United States is 1 in 8 (about 13%).
• In 2008, an estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 67,770 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
• About 1,990 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2008. Less than 1% of all new breast cancer cases occur in men.
• From 2001 to 2004, breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. decreased by 3.5% per year. One theory is that this decrease was due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women after the results of a large study, called the Women’s Health Initiative, were published in 2002. These results suggested a connection between HRT and increased breast cancer risk.
• About 40,480 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2008 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1990. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
• For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer besides lung cancer.
• Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. women. More than 1 in 4 cancers are breast cancer.
• Compared to African American women, white women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer, but less likely to die of it. One possible reason is that African American women tend to have more aggressive tumors, although why this is the case is not known. Women of other ethnic backgrounds — Asian, Hispanic, and Native American — have a lower risk of developing and dying from breast cancer than white women and African American women.
• As of 2008, there are about 2.5 million women in the U.S. who have survived breast cancer.
• A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 20-30% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of breast cancer.
• About 5-10% of breast cancers are caused by gene mutations inherited from one’s mother or father. Mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are the most common. Women with these mutations have up to an 80% risk of developing breast cancer during their lifetime, and they often are diagnosed at a younger age (before age 50). An increased ovarian cancer risk is also associated with these genetic mutations. Men with a BRCA1 mutation have a 1% risk of developing breast cancer by age 70 and a 6% risk when they have a BRCA2 mutation.
• About 90% of breast cancers are due not to heredity, but to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general.
• The most significant risk factors for breast cancer are gender (being a woman) and age (growing older).

21. Breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells. To better understand breast cancer, it helps to understand how any cancer can develop.

Bladder Cancer

Overview

The bladder is a hollow organ in the lower abdomen. Its primary function is to store urine, the waste that is produced when the kidneys filter the blood. Urine passes from the two kidneys into the bladder through two tubes called ureters and urine leaves the bladder through another tube called the urethra. The bladder has a muscular wall that allows it to get larger and smaller as urine is stored or emptied.

The wall of the bladder is lined with several layers of cells called transitional cells. Cancer arising from these cells makes up more than 90% of all bladder cancers and these are referred to as transitional cell carcinomas. Because transitional cell carcinomas are the most common type of bladder cancer, the information in this section only addresses treatment of transitional cell cancer of the bladder.

Bladder cancer occurs predominantly in elderly men and less frequently in women and younger men. Many bladder cancers are thought to be caused by exposure to cancer-causing agents that pass through the urine and come into contact with the bladder lining. The most important risk factor for bladder cancer is smoking, which increases risk by at least four-fold.[1]

The most common sign of bladder cancer is hematuria or blood in the urine, which will turn the urine rust or red in color.[2] Other signs of bladder cancer may include pain during urination and frequent urination. Most patients with bladder cancer do not have symptoms other than hematuria. Unfortunately, most bladder cancers are not diagnosed until they have become very large. As a result, research is ongoing in order to develop urine tests that would enable earlier detection of bladder cancer when it is small and more easily treated. There are several promising tests under evaluation, but currently none are reliable enough for routine use.

An outpatient procedure called a cystoscopy is usually used to diagnose bladder cancer. During a cystoscopy, the physician (a urologist) inserts a thin, lighted tube (cystoscope) into the bladder through the urethra to examine the internal lining of the bladder. The procedure enables the urologist to remove (biopsy) small samples of any abnormal appearing areas of the bladder and examine them under the microscope. When bladder cancer is diagnosed, the urologist will want to learn the stage or extent of the cancer, as well as the grade (aggressiveness) of the cancer as determined by its appearance under the microscope. Grade is important because it indicates how closely the cancer resembles normal tissue and suggests how fast the cancer is likely to grow. Low-grade cancers more closely resemble normal tissue and are likely to grow and spread more slowly than high-grade cancers.

Brain Tumors: An Overview of Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Introduction

An abnormal growth of cells in the brain is called a brain tumor. Brain tumors may be malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-cancerous).

Suspicions of a brain tumor may first arise from abnormal behavior or other symptoms. Symptoms are typically investigated with a series of tests aimed at making a diagnosis. If a brain tumor is the diagnosis, further information about the cancer cells is necessary to determine the best possible approach to treatment. There are many types of brain tumors that differ based on which type of cells make up the tumor. Also, determining the extent of the cancer helps the doctor to understand the likelihood that the tumor will spread into other brain tissues, a characteristic which may also be referred to as the aggressiveness of the cancer.

14. Leukemia

Overview

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood cells. There are many different types of leukemia, depending upon which specific blood cells are affected. Each leukemia has different disease characteristics and therefore different treatment options. Several clinical diagnostic tests are utilized in order to determine the type and extent of leukemia. In order to better understand leukemia and its treatment, a basic understanding of normal blood cell production is useful.

Normal blood is made up of fluid called plasma and three main types of blood cells. Plasma is mainly water, but contains minerals, proteins and antibodies. The three major blood cell types are white cells, red cells and platelets. Each type of blood cell has a specific function. White blood cells, also called leukocytes, help the body fight infections and other diseases. Red blood cells, also called erythrocytes, make up half the blood’s total volume. They contain hemoglobin, which picks up oxygen from the lungs and carries it to the body’s organs. Platelets, or thrombocytes, help form blood clots to control bleeding.

Blood cells are produced inside the bones in a spongy space called the bone marrow. The process of blood cell formation is called hematopoiesis. All blood cells have a common origin called a stem cell. Stem cells develop into specific mature blood cells by a process

Skin Cancer

More than one million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States, making it the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer.[1]

Overview of the Skin

The skin is the largest organ in the body. It protects against germs, covers internal organs, and helps regulate the body’s temperature. The two main layers of the skin are the epidermis and the dermis. The epidermis forms the top, outer layer of the skin. The dermis is a thicker layer beneath the epidermis.

Skin cancer generally develops in the epidermis. The three main types of cells in the epidermis are squamous cells, basal cells, and melanocytes. Squamous cells form a flat layer of cells at the top of the epidermis. Basal cells are round cells found beneath the squamous cells. Melanocytes are pigment-producing cells that are generally found in the lower part of the epidermis.

Types of Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is often categorized as melanoma or non-melanoma. Melanoma is a cancer that begins in melanocytes. It is less common than non-melanoma skin cancer, but tends to be more aggressive. In 2006 an estimated 62,000 individuals in the U.S. will be diagnosed with melanoma, and close to 8,000 will die of the disease.[1]

The most common type of non-melanoma skin cancer is basal cell carcinoma. This type of cancer rarely spreads to distant sites in the body, but it can be disfiguring and may invade nearby tissues.

The second most common type of non-melanoma skin cancer is squamous cell carcinoma. Although this type of cancer is more likely to metastasize (spread to lymph nodes or other sites in the body) than basal cell carcinoma, metastasis is still rare. Both basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma most commonly develop on sun-exposed parts of the skin, but can develop on other parts of the skin as well.

Cervical Cancer

The cervix is a female reproductive organ that forms the lower portion of the uterus or womb. The uterus and cervix lie in the pelvis, on top of the vagina, in between the rectum and bladder. The cervix forms the part of the birth canal that opens to the vagina.

The surface layer of the cervix is mostly composed of squamous cells. The squamous cells of the cervix merge with the glandular cells lining the cervical canal of the uterus. The area of merging is called the squamo-columnar junction and the area on the cervix outside of this junction is called the transformation zone. Cervical cancer occurs when cervical cells grow out of control, typically in the transformation zone. When cells grow out of control, they spread and grow throughout the cervix and may invade and destroy neighboring organs or break away and spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body.

Doctors who care for women routinely perform pelvic examinations and a Papanicolaou (Pap) smear to screen for cancer in the cells on the surface of the cervix. During a Pap smear, a sample of cells from the cervix is taken with a small wooden spatula or brush and examined under the microscope. Women may first become aware that they have cervical cancer when a suspicious area is identified during a pelvic examination or an abnormal Pap smear. If a suspicious or a precancerous lesion is found, additional tests will be recommended to determine whether a precancerous lesion or invasive cancer exists.

Cells taken from the surface of the cervix can appear abnormal, but may not be cancer. These abnormal cells, however, may be the first step in a series of changes that lead to cancer. Doctors refer to the abnormal cells as "precancerous" and have used different terms to refer to them, such as squamous intraepithelial lesions, dysplasia, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or carcinoma in situ. Precancerous disease involves only the surface of the cervix. When the abnormal cells begin to spread deeper into the cervix, they are referred to as invasive cancer of the cervix.

If physicians feel they need more information following an abnormal Pap smear, they may use a colposcope (lighted microscope) to better visualize the cervix or to perform a biopsy, which is the removal of a sample of tissue from the cervix in order to evaluate cervical cells under a microscope. If the doctor cannot determine whether the abnormal cells are only on the surface of the cervix, an endocervical curettage or conization may be recommended. During an endocervical curettage, a small spoon-shaped instrument called a curette is used to scrape cells away from inside the cervical opening. A conization or cone biopsy removes a cone-shaped sample of tissue from the cervical canal. Conization can also serve as the primary treatment of precancerous cervical cancer.

Infrequently, it may still remain unclear whether the abnormal cells are confined to the cervix or arise from inside the uterus. In this situation, a dilatation and curettage (D and C) may be recommended. During a D and C, the cervical opening is stretched (dilated) and a curette is inserted to remove cells from the lining of the uterus and cervical canal. In order to learn more about the most recent information available concerning the treatment of cervical cancer, click on the appropriate stage.

Stage 0: Precancerous lesion involves only the cells on the surface of the cervix.

Stage I: Cancer is confined to the cervix, and may be evident only under microscopic evaluation (stage IA) or apparent by visible or physical examination (stage IB).

Stage II: Cancer has spread beyond the cervix to involve the tissues surrounding the cervix (parametria) or the upper portion of the vagina.

Head and Neck Cancers

Head and neck cancers originate in the throat, larynx (voice box), pharynx, salivary glands, or oral cavity (lip, mouth, tongue). In 1999, there were 500,000 cases of head and neck cancers worldwide. Most head and neck cancers involve squamous cells, which are cells that line the mouth, throat, or other structures. Also, these cancers are often preceded by non-cancerous sores or an unusual patch of white tissue that cannot be rubbed off, called a leukoplakia.

A cancer that has not spread to deeper tissue layers is non-invasive, referred to as carcinoma in-situ. However, head and neck cancers do tend to spread, particularly to lymph nodes in the neck. On initial diagnosis, more than 70% of patients have cancer that has advanced locally, regionally, and/or to distant locations in the body. Furthermore, 10% to 15% of individuals with a cancer of the head and neck will have a second cancer that may or may not present with symptoms. The esophagus is the most frequent site in which additional primary cancers are discovered.

Diagnosis of head and neck cancers usually involves several tests to help determine the stage of the cancer. The size and extent to which the cancer has spread from its site of origin is referred to as the stage. A procedure called an endoscopy is performed to obtain a biopsy, determine the local extent of the cancer, and look for additional cancers. An endoscope is a lighted tube, which is used to examine the throat, larynx, and upper esophagus. A biopsy involves the removal of a small sample of the suspected cancer. The samples are then examined under a microscope to determine if cancer is present. Additional procedures may including blood tests, a chest x-ray, and sometimes additional surgery for lymph node evaluation. Computed tomographic (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, ultrasound, and positron emission tomography (PET) scans are often valuable for detecting the extent to which the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and to further identify the extent of cancer at the primary location.

Patients with head and neck cancers should consider being carefully evaluated in a medical center that treats many patients with these cancers. Patients with head and neck cancer require a multidisciplinary team approach that is often only available at specialty medical centers. A multidisciplinary team may be comprised of a head and neck surgeon, a radiation oncologist, a medical oncologist, a pathologist, a dentist, and social services personnel. Evaluation and treatment by an experienced team is essential for determining optimal treatment.

Treatment for head and neck cancers depend on the stage and location, and is addressed under the following sections: Cancer of the Throat, Cancer of the Larynx, Cancer of the Salivary Glands, and Cancer of the Oral Cavity. These sections consist of general overviews of treatment for each specific type of head and neck cancer. Treatment may consist of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, biological therapy, or a combination of these treatment techniques. Multi-modality treatment, which is treatment using two or more techniques, may be the most promising approach for increasing a patient's chance of cure or prolonging a patient's survival. However, circumstances unique to each patient’s situation may influence how these general treatment principles are applied and whether the patient decides to receive treatment. The potential benefits of receiving treatment must be carefully balanced with the potential risks. The information on this website is intended to help educate patients about their treatment options and to facilitate a mutual or shared decision-making process with their treating cancer physicia

Introduction to Cancer Treatment

Choice of cancer treatment is influenced by several factors, including the specific characteristics of your cancer; your overall condition; and whether the goal of treatment is to cure your cancer, keep your cancer from spreading, or to relieve the symptoms caused by cancer. Depending on these factors, you may receive one or more of the following:

• Surgery
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation therapy
• Hormonal therapy
• Targeted therapy
• Biological therapy

One or more treatment modalities may be used to provide you with the most effective treatment. Increasingly, it is common to use several treatment modalities together (concurrently) or in sequence with the goal of preventing recurrence. This is referred to as multi-modality treatment of the cancer.

Surgery

Surgery is used to diagnose cancer, determine its stage, and to treat cancer. One common type of surgery that may be used to help with diagnosing cancer is a biopsy. A biopsy involves taking a tissue sample from the suspected cancer for examination by a specialist in a laboratory. A biopsy is often performed in the physician’s office or in an outpatient surgery center. A positive biopsy indicates the presence of cancer; a negative biopsy may indicate that no cancer is present in the sample.

When surgery is used for treatment, the cancer and some tissue adjacent to the cancer are typically removed. In addition to providing local treatment of the cancer, information gained during surgery is useful in predicting the likelihood of cancer recurrence and whether other treatment modalities will be necessary.

Learn more about surgery.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is any treatment involving the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Cancer chemotherapy may consist of single drugs or combinations of drugs, and can be administered through a vein, injected into a body cavity, or delivered orally in the form of a pill. Chemotherapy is different from surgery or radiation therapy in that the cancer-fighting drugs circulate in the blood to parts of the body where the cancer may have spread and can kill or eliminate cancers cells at sites great distances from the original cancer. As a result, chemotherapy is considered a systemic treatment.

More than half of all people diagnosed with cancer receive chemotherapy. For millions of people who have cancers that respond well to chemotherapy, this approach helps treat their cancer effectively, enabling them to enjoy full, productive lives. Furthermore, many side effects once associated with chemotherapy are now easily prevented or controlled, allowing many people to work, travel, and participate in many of their other normal activities while receiving chemotherapy.

Learn more about chemotherapy treatment and the management of side effects.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, uses high-energy rays to damage or kill cancer cells by preventing them from growing and dividing. Similar to surgery, radiation therapy is a local treatment used to eliminate or eradicate visible tumors. Radiation therapy is not typically useful in eradicating cancer cells that have already spread to other parts of the

How can HIV transmission be prevented?

• Sexual transmission
• Transmission through blood
• Mother-to-child transmission

Wherever there is HIV, all three routes of transmission will take place. However the number of infections resulting from each route will vary greatly between countries and population groups.

To be successful, an HIV prevention programme must make use of all approaches known to be effective

For each route of transmission there are things that an individual can do to reduce or eliminate risk. There are also interventions that have been proven to work at the community, local and national level.

To be successful, an HIV prevention programme must make use of all approaches known to be effective, rather than just implementing one or a few select actions in isolation. The share of resources allocated to each area should reflect the nature of the local epidemic - for example, if most infections occur among men who have sex with men then this group should be a primary target for prevention efforts.

Although most of this page looks separately at each transmission route, it should be remembered that many people don’t fit into only one “risk category”. For example, injecting drug users need access to condoms and safer sex counselling as well as help to reduce the risk of transmission through blood.

Sexual transmission of AIDS

Someone can eliminate or reduce their risk of becoming infected with HIV during sex by choosing to:

• Abstain from sex or delay first sex
• Be faithful to one partner or have fewer partners
• Condomise, which means using male or female condoms consistently and correctly

There are a number of effective ways to encourage people to adopt safer sexual behaviour, including media campaigns, social marketing, peer education and small group counselling. These activities should be carefully tailored to the needs and circumstances of the people they intend to help. Specific programmes should target key groups such as young people, women, men who have sex with men, injecting drug users and sex workers.^{5 6 7}

Comprehensive sex education for young people is an essential part of HIV prevention. This should include training in life skills such as negotiating healthy sexual relationships, as well as accurate and explicit information about how to practise safer sex. Studies have shown that this kind of comprehensive sex education is more effective at preventing sexually transmitted infections than education that focuses solely on teaching abstinence until marriage.^{8 9}

Injecting drugs, drug users, HIV & AIDS

The effect of injection drug use on HIV rates

Roughly one tenth of new HIV infections result from needle sharing, with this figure rising to just under a third outside of sub-Saharan Africa.¹³ One study estimates that just under one-in-five IDUs globally may be infected with HIV.¹⁴ Among the regions where injecting drug use accounts for a majority or highly significant share of HIV prevalence are:¹⁵

• Eastern Europe and Central Asia
• Russia: 83%
• Kyrgyzstan: 75%
• Kazakhstan: 73.6%
• Ukraine: 64.1%

• East and South-East Asia
• Malaysia: 72%
• Indonesia: 54%
• Vietnam: 52%
• China: 44.3%

In many other parts of Asia, the Middle East and the Southern cone of Latin America, the sharing of injecting equipment is the primary route of HIV transmission.1

Treatment and Trials

Living with and managing HIV disease requires a thorough understanding of the treatments that are available to you. It also demands that drug companies develop new and more effective HIV drugs through clinical trials and research. If you’re frustrated about the lack of information specific to women, consider participating in a clinical trial (there are many kinds)! Even if you don’t participate in a drug study, you’re still helping us learn more about HIV disease in women!

Radiation Therapy

Understanding Radiation Therapy

For many people, the word “radiation” conjures up frightening images. But radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy, is an effective, carefully controlled means of fighting cancer. Although therapy can cause side effects, the treatment sessions themselves are painless. And in the skilled hands of a radiation oncologist and well-trained technologist, the side effects can be minimized. Radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for cancer; it is used in more than half of all cases.

What exactly is it?

Radiation therapy uses beams of high-energy waves or particles (for example, x-rays, gamma rays, or alpha and beta particles) to kill or damage cancer cells. The powerful stream of energy, which is thousands of times more intense than the rays used for a routine chest x-ray, damages the DNA of cancer cells, rendering them unable to reproduce and grow. Although radiation damages both cancer cells and normal cells, normal cells are able to repair themselves and function properly.

When is it used?

Radiation therapy is the primary treatment for many types of cancer, including certain cancers of the lung, breast, cervix, prostate, testicles, bladder, thyroid, larynx and brain, as well as early-stage Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In some cases, radiation therapy is the only treatment needed; in others, it is used in combination with surgery or chemotherapy. Radiation can be used before surgery to shrink a tumor so that it is easier to remove. After surgery, it is used to destroy microscopic extensions of cancerous tissue around a tumor that surgery might have missed.

Unlike chemotherapy, in which cancer-killing drugs travel throughout the entire body via the bloodstream, radiation therapy affects only the tumor and the surrounding tissue.When cancer has spread to distant areas of the body, chemotherapy is needed.

CANCER INFORMATION

What is Cancer?
Cancer is not one disease, but many diseases that occur in different areas of the body. Each type of cancer is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells. Under normal conditions, cell reproduction is carefully controlled by the body. However, these controls can malfunction, resulting in abnormal cell growth and the development of a lump, mass, or tumor. Some cancers involving the blood and blood-forming organs do not form tumors but circulate through other tissues where they grow.

A tumor may be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Cells from cancerous tumors can spread throughout the body. This process, called metastasis, occurs when cancer cells break away from the original tumor and travel in the circulatory or lymphatic systems until they are lodged in a small capillary network in another area of the body. Common locations of metastasis are the bones, lungs, liver, and central nervous system.

The type of cancer refers to the organ or area of the body where the cancer first occurred. Cancer that has metastasized to other areas of the body is named for the part of the body where it originated. For example, if breast cancer has spread to the bones, it is called "metastatic breast cancer" not bone cancer.

How did I get cancer?
Although every patient and family member wants to know the answer to this question, the reason people develop cancer is not well understood. There are some known carcinogens (materials that can cause cancer), but many are still undiscovered. We do not know why some people who are exposed to carcinogens get cancer and others do not. The length and amount of exposure are believed to affect the chances of developing a disease. For example, as exposure to cigarette smoking increases, the chance of developing lung cancer also increases. Genetics also plays an important role in whether an individual develops cancer. For example, certain types of breast cancer have a genetic component.

What’s next?
Following your diagnosis of cancer, your reaction may be one of shock and disbelief. If you have been told that chemotherapy or radiation therapy are an important part of your treatment, many unpleasant images may come to mind. But as you move beyond that initial shock to begin the journey of surviving your cancer, you have many good reasons to be optimistic. Medicine has made—and continues to make—great strides in treating cancer and in making cancer treatment more tolerable, both physically and emotionally.

No one would call cancer a normal experience, but by proactively managing aspects of your treatment, you can maintain a sense of normalcy in your life. Fighting cancer is not a challenge you face alone. It's a team effort that involves family, friends, and your healthcare team. Don't overlook the strength that can come from having your support network by your side.

Amnesia

The term 'Amnesia' refers to the state where a person faces partial or complete memory loss. The patients of amnesia suffer from forgetfulness and poor memory. The ailment can be broadly classified into types - anterograde and retrograde. While in the former, a person is unable to remember new events, the latter causes him to forget the past events. Amnesia is most commonly found in senior citizens. At times, a severe head injury can also result in amnesia. There are a few home remedies which prove useful in treating amnesia. They help improve mental alertness and enhance the nervous system. Read on to know more about natural ways to cure a person suffering from amnesia.

Home Remedies For Amnesia

• Rosemary is the best home remedy for amnesia. Known as the herb of remembrance, it can effectively cure mental fatigue and forgetfulness. Prepare rosemary tea by adding 1-2 teaspoons of the herb to a cup (225ml) of boiling water. Let it steep for 5 minutes, strain the decoction and add a squirt of lime juice. Drink the tea once or twice, on a daily basis.
• Perennail booti is also helpful in curing forgetfulness. Dry about seven grams of this herb in a shady place. Grind it, along with seven kernels of almonds and half a gram of pepper. Add water to form a decoction. Strain the decoction and add twenty-five gm sugar. Drink this mixture, on an empty stomach, every morning, for about a fortnight.
• Walnuts work as effective memory enhancers. Consuming 20 gm walnuts everyday, in the morning, will prove to be highly beneficial. This home remedy can be made more effective if you add 10 gm of raisins or figs to walnuts.
• Almonds are, traditionally, considered to be the best and the most effective memory booster. Soak about 10 almonds overnight. Peel off the brown skin in the morning and make a paste of it. Intake this paste, along with a tsp of butter, every morning. This works as a powerful memory enhancer and reduces needless anger.
• Holy basil leaves prove to be an effective memory enhancer. Boil the leaves in water and strain the decoction. Drink the decoction, after it cools down. You can also eat the leaves directly, after washing them with water.
• Another very popular home remedy for amnesia comprises of the herb, Brahmi. Prepare a decoction of the herb, by steeping it in boiling water and straining the water. Let it cool down and consume it in the morning, on an empty stomach.
• For treating amnesia, biofeedback has proved to be a useful technique. In this process, the patient is made aware of his quantifiable bodily functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar and skin temperature. This raises the patient's awareness as well as his conscious control of the involuntary physiological activities.
• Patients suffering from amnesia can also retort to writing their routine in a notebook. They should try to memorize this and recall everything, first thing in the morning, without looking at the notebook.
• The right diet also acts as a memory booster. Include a lot of phosphorous-rich fruits in your diet, such as dates, oranges, figs, grapes, apple, almonds and walnuts. They help activate the brain cell and reduce forgetfulness.
• The most simple of all home remedies for amnesia is to have a tsp of honey, sprinkled with finely grounded black pepper, once a day. This would help enhance memory.

Dark Skin

While some people have dark skin from the time they are born, there are others who have it because of hyper pigmentation and various other reasons. Dark skin has higher quantity of skin pigment melanin, as compared to a fair skin. The increased quantity of melanin also makes the skin look blemished and patchy. The most common symptoms of dark skin are that the skin color turns to brownish to blackish. The effect magnifies if it is also accompanied with blemishes or dark patches on the skin. Dark skins can be cured naturally using some easy measures. Know more how to treat dark skin naturally.

Home Remedy For Dark Skin

• An effective home remedy to cure the problem of dark skin would be to mix 1 tsp of milk powder, 1 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of lemon juice and ½ tsp of almond oil. Make a paste and apply this on the face. Apart from removing the tan, it would also make the skin shine.
• Take some oatmeal along with curd and tomato juice. Apply this mixture on the face and keep it for about 20 minutes. Wash your face with cold water.
• Potato acts as a very good bleaching agent. Slice a potato and keep them over the face. This would lighten the marks.
• Take a little turmeric powder and add a few drops of lime juice. Apply this on the darkened area. This would help to reduce tan effectively.
• Dry some orange peels. Then, mix them to a bowl of curd. This would be beneficial in removing tan. Keep this for about 15 minutes and wash off with cold water.
• Another effective remedy to remove tan would be to soak 4 almonds in water and keep it overnight. Grind these almonds to make a paste. Apply this paste at bedtime. In the morning, was off this paste with cold water.
• Take a tablespoon of gram flour and mix it with 2 tsp of raw milk and 2-3 drops of lime juice. Apply this mixture and leave it for 15 minutes before washing off.
• Mint leaves work well to remove the dark skin. Take some fresh ground mint leaves and make a paste of it. Keep it for 15 minutes and later rinse of.
• Grate a tomato and add 2-3 drops of lime to it. Apply this mixture on the face and keep it for 15 minutes. Repeat this two times a day for better results.
• It is advisable to increase in the intake of water. The more water you have the more toxins flush out from the body and hence have better glowing skin. As per the diet, include whole cereals, vegetables, fruits, pulses etc into your diet.

Appendicitis

n the human body, the appendix is situated on the lower side of the abdomen. It has a cylindrical shape and forms a part of the larger intestine. Appendicitis is a condition when the appendix gets swollen or inflamed, mainly because of primary obstruction of the appendix lumen. The risk of having appendicitis is more between the ages of 10 and 30. Its main symptom is a shooting, almost unbearable, pain on the lower right side of the stomach. The only way to cure appendicitis, if it is in the late stages, is to remove the appendix with surgery. However, if detected on time, it can be cured naturally, using home remedies. In the following lines, we provide natural treatments for appendicitis.

Home Remedy for Appendicitis

• The best home remedy for appendicitis would be a mix of 100 ml cucumber juice, 100 ml beet juice and 300 ml carrot juice. Intake this juice regularly, two times a day.
• Buttermilk helps in curing chronic appendicitis. A liter of buttermilk should be consumed, on an everyday basis, for about a fortnight.
• In a liter of cold water, add 1 tsp fenugreek seeds and let it boil. Now, strain the water and have it while it's still warm, but not too hot. This would prove effective to cure appendicitis naturally.
• Appendicitis can also be cured by having green grams. 1 tsp of sprouted green grams, twice or thrice a day; will prove to be worthwhile in treating appendicitis.
• Include coriander juice, radish juice and spinach juice in your regular diet. They will help treat appendices problem.
• For people who suffer from fever, along with appendicitis, decoction of the basil leaves will prove beneficial. Steep the leaves in boiling water and let them stand for 5 minutes. Strain it and your decoction is ready.
• Ginger helps in those appendicitis cases where the patient also has the tendency to vomit. Add a pinch of rock salt to 1 tsp of ginger juice and drink it. Alternatively, you can store raw cut pieces of ginger, with some rock salt, in a bottle and have it with your meals.
• Ginger and turmeric act as a good combination for treating appendicitis. They can be taken in a raw or powdered form. It reduces the pain and swollenness resulting from appendicitis.

ASTHMA

INTRODUCTION

• Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that affects people of all ages.
• At present there is no known cure, but it can be treated and controlled.
• It is most common in childhood but is being diagnosed more and more in adults.
• It affects twice as many boys as girls in childhood; more girls than boys develop asthma as teenagers, and in adulthood, the ratio becomes 1:1 males to females.
• Asthma affects people in varying degrees, from very mild (only during vigorous exercise) to very severe. Those with severe asthma may have symptoms every day that may cause some lifestyle restriction; in these people symptoms occur more easily and more frequently.
• There is a general trend of increased deaths and hospitalisations from asthma recorded in all the industrialised countries of the world, Canada included.
• In Canada about 3 million people are affected, and approximately 20 children and 500 adults die each year from asthma. However, with adequate treatment most deaths from asthma can be prevented.

What Is Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic lung condition characterised by difficulty in breathing.
People with asthma have extra sensitive or hyperresponsive airways. The airways react by narrowing or obstructing when they become irritated. This makes it difficult for the air to move in and out. This narrowing or obstruction can cause one or a combination of the following symptoms:

• wheezing
• coughing
• shortness of breath
• chest tightness

This narrowing or obstruction is caused by:

• Airway inflammation (meaning that the airways in the lungs become red, swollen and narrow)
• Bronchoconstriction (meaning that the muscles that encircle the airways tighten or go into spasm)

Airway Inflammation

The picture shows the opening of a normal airway on the left. In the centre is a picture of an airway which has been exposed to a certain stimuli (i.e. inhaled allergen like grass pollen). It has become swollen and plugged with mucus, thus making the airway opening considerably smaller, and therefore more restrictive to airflow. The aim of treatment is to reduce this inflammation and prevent further injury to the airway.

Bronchoconstriction
On the right is a picture of an airway which has been exposed to a certain stimulus (such as cold air or vigorous exercise). The muscle fibres surrounding the airway have contracted, thus making the airway opening considerably smaller. The aim of treatment is to reduce this constriction and prevent further injury to the airway.

PROVOKING FACTORS

Two factors provoke asthma:
1. Triggers result in tightening of the airways (bronchoconstriction).
2. Causes (or inducers) result in inflammation of the airways.

Triggers

• Triggers irritate the airways and result in bronchoconstriction.
• Triggers do not cause inflammation and therefore do not cause asthma.
• Symptoms and bronchoconstriction caused by triggers tend to be immediate, short-lived, and rapidly reversible.
• Airways will react more quickly to triggers if inflammation is already present in the airways.

Common triggers of bronchoconstriction include everyday stimuli such as:

Kidney Stones

What is a kidney stone?

A kidney stone is a hard mass that occurs when calcium oxalate or other chemicals in the urine form crystals that stick together. These crystals may grow into stones ranging in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball.

Are kidney stones common?

Some one million Americans--the majority between the ages of 20 and 40--are treated each year for kidney stones. Kidney stones are more common in men, who account for about four out of five cases.

Why do kidney stones form in some people and not others?

Normally, urine contains substances that prevent crystals from forming. However, these do not work for everyone. Factors that can contribute to stone formation in susceptible people include:

• Too little fluid intake
• Chronic urinary tract infections
• Misuse of certain medications
• Urinary tract blockage
• Limited activity for several weeks
• Certain genetic and metabolic diseases.

What are the symptoms of kidney stones?

Some people may not have any symptoms, but most have at least some, such as:

• Severe pain in the kidneys or lower abdomen, which may move to the groin; pain may last for minutes or hours, followed by periods of relief
• Nausea and vomiting
• Fever, chills and weakness
• Cloudy or foul-smelling urine
• Blood in the urine
• Blocked flow of urine.

How are kidney stones diagnosed?

X-rays can usually identify the presence of stones. Specialized x-ray techniques (sometimes using dye injections) or sound waves may be used to identify more accurately the size and location of the stones and to test kidney function. Blood and urine tests may help a doctor to find out what is causing the stone and plan the best treatment.

How are kidney stones treated?

Most stones can be treated with increased fluid intake, changes in diet and medication. About 90 percent of stones will pass by themselves within three to six weeks. Certain types of stones may sometimes be dissolved using medications; however, calcium-containing stones (the most common type in the U.S.) cannot be dissolved.

Stones should always be removed when infection, obstruction or kidney damage are present. When removal becomes necessary, several different methods are available. The best method for you depends on the size, location and type of stone. Some stones are removed by passing a telescopic instrument into the bladder or into the ureters--tubes that connect the bladder and kidneys--to pull the stones out or to break them into small fragments with shock waves or laser beams. Or a telescopic instrument may be inserted directly into the kidney through a small slit made in the patient's side to pull the stone out whole or break it down into small fragments.

The newest method of stone removal is called extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). In this technique, stones are broken down into small fragments by high energy shock waves from a device outside the body.