Diagnose diabetes at the right time

Diabetes is a chronic disease, and if left untreated, can become life threatening. Diabetes symptoms are subtle and may appear harmless in the beginning. Many times people don’t even realize that they are suffering from diabetes, and that is why it gets diagnosed very late, by when, it has already progressed to an advanced stage. 

There are many sure-shot symptoms of diabetes. When you experience any one or all of the below mentioned symptoms, it is advisable to get your blood sugar level checked. Consult a diabetologist as early as possible and diagnose the disease to arrest it in the early stages itself. The most common symptoms of diabetes are:

• Frequent urination: When a person is suffering from diabetes, the body is not able to break down the glucose in the blood. As a result, the person ends up urinating frequently to get rid of the excessive glucose in the body. This is one of the most exact way of realizing that one has diabetes.

• Weight loss: When a person is suffering from diabetes, his body loses the capacity to retain glucose. As a result, the cells cannot receive proper nutrition for their growth. That is the reason why a diabetic person loses weight at a rapid speed. If one has been losing weight without any changes in the lifestyle, it is better to consult a diabetology doctor.

• Fatigue: Getting tired with even minimal physical work is one of the signs of diabetes. The cells of a diabetic person are unable to proper nutrition and that is why a diabetic person gets tired easily. 

• Dehydration: This is a result of frequent urination, which leaves the diabetic person thirsty. This may also lead to dehydration. 

Treat Diabetes the right way

Diabetology is a branch of endocrinology. It is the medical science dedicated to the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diabetes mellitus. Until today, there is no cure for diabetes. However, a diabetologist can control this disease from advancing with proper medication. Diabetes can lead to other health problems like kidney failure, heart diseases, and even blindness.

Consulting a diabetology doctor is important to treat diabetes the right way. Mumbai and Navi Mumbai offers a lot of option in terms of good diabetologists. From planning a proper diet to regulating the intake on insulin, Diabetologist in Mumbai can guide you for treating diabetes correctly. Even diabetologist in Navi Mumbai are professional and skilled for treating all sorts of diabetic disorders.

Surgeries performed by General Surgery Doctors

In certain cases, the drugs and medication fails to treat some chronic diseases and disorders. In such a case, surgery is recommended by the healthcare specialist, which is performed by the general surgeons to get relief from the illness, disease and problems related to upper abdominal pain. General Surgery is a surgical speciality dealing with abdominal contents including stomach, esophagus, colon, small bowel, pancreas, liver, bile duct, and gallbladder. Invasive methods are also used by the general surgery doctors to treat the diseases related to skin, breast and hernias.

General surgeons are specialized in -

Trauma surgery - Some emergency trauma cases requires surgery, performed by the general surgeons.

Colorectal surgery - Variety of minor and major types of colon and rectal diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, hemorrhoids, gastrointestinal bleeding, diverticulitis, and colon and rectal cancer are treated with surgery.

Laparoscopic surgery - Minimal invasive techniques are used to remove appendices, gallbladders and colon. Hernias are also treated with laparoscopic surgery. 

Breast surgery - Breast tumor that occurs from breast tissue, most probably from the inner lining of the milk ducts are removed with invasive method.

Endocrine surgery - General surgeons perform the surgery to remove all or part of thyroid and parathyroid glands in neck and adrenal glands (above each kidney on abdomen).

Vascular surgery - This surgery is performed by the general surgery doctors is they have received special training in it. Vascular surgery is done to treat minor vascular disorders.

Dermatological surgery - Several skin-related surgeries are performed by the general surgeons to removes tumours that grow just below the skin or arise in muscle or other soft tissues. General surgery doctors also treat some complex infections of skin.

Several surgeries are performed by the general surgery doctors to treat various types of diseases, illnesses and disorders and other causes of upper abdominal pain. When medication fails to cure the certain diseases, healthcare specialists recommends for the surgery.

World Polio Day - Battle Against Polio

Polio - a serious disease that can negatively affect the health of a child and makes him physically challenged. But you can save your child from this chronic disease. If your child is vaccinated for polio, his/her rest of life won’t be threatened by polio. Every year several polio campaigns are held worldwide to give the children oral polio vaccine.

World Polio Day is an effort to eradicate polio completely from the world. With the great efforts, now polio is on verge of an end. But if the disease is not completed eradicated, it can affect more than 10 million children worldwide in coming 40 years. World Polio Day spreads awareness across the globe about the worse consequences of polio, which can paralyze a child.

World Polio Day 2012

Polio eradication partners from every corner of the world will be marking 24 October as World Polio Day. They take an opportunity to eradicate the poliovirus in the remaining endemic countries such as Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. The cause is powered by the World Health Assembly and implemented through national emergency programs.

Why is polio vaccination important?

One might think what is the need of the polio vaccination? You will be surprised to know that polio is highly contagious and polio virus can be easily transmitted. If polio-affected child travels to polio-free country, polio can reoccur in that country and again children will be at higher risk of polio.

So whenever campaigns for polio vaccinations are held, take your child for the oral polio vaccinations. Just few drops - and you can save your child from being paralyzed.

Polio is preventable disease; don’t let your child be paralysed. World Polio Day is a critical step to encourage the people to protect children from polio - by getting them polio vaccination.

medecure urges to give your child polio vaccination so that he is protected against polio for rest of his life.  If your child is less than 5 years, take your child to the polio booth for the vaccination.

Love your Bones - World Osteoporosis Day

Osteoporosis literally means ‘porous bone’ is a medical condition, in which bones become weak and thin. Such a condition increases the risk of fracture in bone. Hip and spine are the most common areas of fracture associated with osteoporosis, accounting for more than 80% of all fractures.

Osteoporosis is a global health problem which mainly occurs without any signs and symptoms. It is considered as the “silent epidemic”; therefore, some efforts are to be made to aware the people about the prevention and causes of the disease. World Osteoporosis Day is celebrated on 20 October annually. The campaign aims to educate and aware the people about the disease, so that people can take effective measures to prevent osteoporosis.

The lifetime chances of osteoporosis in men are 13% and in women it is 30-40%. A person is at higher risk of the disease if he has poor eating habits and due to lack of exercise. But if some lifestyle changes and dietary changes are made, the risk of osteoporosis can be decreased.

Effective ways to prevent osteoporosis

The risk of osteoporosis can be reduced by taking some steps to improve and maintain a good health of the bones. To strengthen the bones you should -

Eat a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D - Consuming adequate nutrients is essential for the healthy bones. Upload your diet rich in Calcium and Vitamin D to make your bones strong and healthy. Good sources of calcium are low-fat milk, yogurt, cereals, breads, and orange juice. Ask a doctor for the supplements of vitamin D.

Exercise – It is another best way to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Exercise is very beneficial in making the bones strong. Strengthen your bones by involving in some physical activities like walking, jogging, hiking, climbing stairs, dancing, and playing tennis.

Apart from above you can also decrease the risk of osteoporosis by adopting healthy lifestyle such as

• Quit smoking
• Limit alcohol intake

So this year on the occasion of World Osteoporosis Day, make a strong will that you will do every effort to win the battle against osteoporosis. Eat healthy food rich in calcium and involve more in exercise to make you bones strong.

Having a look at various Breast Cancer Treatment

One of the leading types of cancer in women is the breast cancer. Many women worldwide die due to breast cancer. Though with so much advancement in the medical field still there has not been a proper cure for this condition. The entire world celebrates the October month as the breast cancer awareness month and tries to promote awareness and hence bring down the incidence of breast cancer.

Celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month

There are many treatments available which have proved helpful. These treatments have been able to bring down the mortality rate among women. Let us now have a look at the various breast cancer treatments developed over a period of time.

There have been some recent advancement in the breast cancer category and the doctors have been able to develop such therapies which target and attack those substances which trigger breast cancer cells. The targeted therapies include :

• Trastuzumab (Herceptin) : this drug targets those cells which are dependent on Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2). This drug blocks the effects of HER2 on cancer cells. This limits the growth of breast cancer. All those breast cancer patients who have got tumors respond well to this medication in combination with chemotherapy.
• Lapatinib (Tykerb) : this drug has same effect as that of Trastuzumab and interferes with HER2 protein signals
• Bevacizuamb (Avastin) : this drug interferes with cancer’s blood supply thus restricting the growth of breast cancer. It shuts down new blood vessel formation around the cancer.

Other treatment options available :

• Intra operative Radiation Therapy : This is advancement over the radiation therapy in which the therapy is done after a woman has undergone surgery to remove breast (after some days of undergoing surgery) but what happens in intra operative radiation, the therapy is given to the woman right after the operation in the operation theater. This way it saves both time and all procedure is done at one go. Such a therapy is not recommended for pregnant women because it is known to increase the risk of birth defects in the baby. In such a condition the doctor suggests lumpectomy and radiation therapy.
• Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy : in this procedure the doctors try to locate the lymph node where the breast cancer is most likely to spread. This is done using a dye or a radioactive substance. The doctor would remove that lymph node and would examine it. If there is no cancerous tissue in that lump, then there is no need to remove other lymph nodes from the patient’s breast.
• High dose Chemotherapy followed by Stem cell transplant : this method is still under much debate as many doctors have found that those women who have received high dose chemo reported high mortality then women who received standard chemo therapy. Also the side effects associated with chemotherapy are very much debated.

Treatment for such breast cancer which comes back : such a cancer which comes back after treatment it s called recurrence. The recurrence could be local or distant. When the cancer comes back in the same breast or near the mastectomy scar this is local recurrence. If the cancer is farther it is distant recurrence. But if a cancer is found in the other breast, it is not recurrence and would require its own treatment.

Treatment for Local Recurrence :  The treatment would depend upon the earlier treatment. If earlier breast conserving therapy was used, then now mastectomy would be used. But if the first treatment was mastectomy, then radiation therapy could be used. The doctor would make sure that the woman has not undergone radiation therapy earlier. In such a case hormone therapy, chemo or a combination of available treatment would be done.

Treatment for Distant Recurrence : when the cancer spreads beyond the breast and lymph to other parts of the body then it is treated with systematic therapy. Again combinations of available treatments are used to cure such condition.

These treatments are available but would be of no use unless and until you get the screening done. So go for the breast cancer screening this October and pledge it to eliminate it from the world. medecure is with you in this endeavor.