HEALTH

The term inebriant refers to any drug capable of intoxicating. Alcohol is a classical example of an inebriant. There are several types of alcohol but when we talk about alcohol we mean Ethyl alcohol  also known as Ethanol (C2H5OH) It is by far the most widely used drug in the …

Abdominal pain There are four types of abdominal pain: Visceral. Gut organs are insensitive to stimuli such as burning and cutting but are sensitive to distension, contraction, twisting and stretching. Pain from unpaired structures is usually but not always felt in the midline. Parietal. The parietal peritoneum is innervated by …

Cholera Cholera, caused by Vibrio cholerae serotype O1, is the archetypal toxin-mediated bacterial cause of acute watery diarrhoea. The enterotoxin activates adenylate cyclase in the intestinal epithelium, inducing net secretion of chloride and water. V. cholerae O1 has two biotypes, classical and El Tor, and each of these has two …

Fever ‘Fever’ implies an elevated core body temperature of more than 38.0°C). Fever is a response to cytokines and acute phase proteins and occurs in infections and in non-infectious conditions.   Clinical assessment The differential diagnosis is very broad so clinical features are used to guide the most appropriate investigations. …

Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm) This pale yellow nematode is 20–35 cm long. Humans are infected by eating food contaminated with mature ova. Ascaris larvae hatch in the duodenum, migrate through the lungs, ascend the bronchial tree, are swallowed and mature in the small intestine. This tissu migration can provoke both local …

Peptic ulcer disease The term ‘peptic ulcer’ refers to an ulcer in the lower oesophagus, stomach or duodenum, in the jejunum after surgical anastomosis to the stomach or, rarely, in the ileum adjacent to a Meckel’s diverticulum. Ulcers in the stomach or duodenum may be acute or chronic; both penetrate …

What Is Thalassaemia Thalassaemia is an inherited impairment of hemoglobin production, in which there is partial or complete failure to synthesise a specific type of globin chain. In alphathalassaemia, disruption of one or both alleles on chromosome 16 may occur, with production of some or no alpha globin chains. In …

Heat stroke Heat stroke occurs when the core body temperature rises above 40°C and is a life-threatening condition. The symptoms of heat exhaustion progress to include headache, nausea and vomiting. Neurological manifestations include a coarse muscle tremor and confusion, aggression or loss of consciousness. The patient’s skin feels very hot, …

Jaundice Jaundice is usually detectable clinically when the plasma bilirubin exceeds 40 μmol/L (~2.5 mg/dL).   Signs of jaundice Abdominal pain (suggests stones) Weight loss (chronic liver disease and malignancy) Dark urine and pale stools Fever rigors Dry eyes/dry mouth Fatigue Exposure to intravenous drug or blood transfusions Travel history …

Every year, summers take a toll on the skin. The scorching heat, pollution, humidity, et al, wipes it off the natural glow, and sometimes, invites infections. To avoid all these hassles, and to keep your skin inspiring like before, here are the eight easy-peasy tips you can follow this season. …

According to an American study, a low regular dose of aspirin could reduce the risk of  growing particular types of cancer or dying from the distemper. The experiment was recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, DC. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital …