Causes and Treatment of Iron-Deficiency Anemia

By Anand Kumar

Anemia is a body condition characterized by low-level of hemoglobin in the red blood cells. Iron-deficiency anemia occurs when your body does not have enough iron and since iron is responsible for producing hemoglobin, the rest of your body will not be able to get the required oxygen for daily activities.

There are many signs to suggests that you have an iron-deficiency anemia; shortness of breath, general fatigue, pale skin, dizziness, cold hands and feet, headaches, tingling feeling in the legs, just to mention a few. Many people may not be aware of this condition until they actually go for a medical test.

Causes

If you consume too little iron over a long period of time, it may lead to a deficiency in your body. Menstruating and pregnant women are also at a high risk of shortage due to blood loss during menstruation and childbirth. Internal bleeding caused by stomach ulcer, polyps in colon or intestines, regular intake of pain relievers like aspirin, can also put you at risk. Some disorders or surgeries that affect the intestines can be a source of interference with the ability of your body to absorb iron.

Treatment

There are many treatment options available for iron-deficiency anemia. You can take iron supplements and if possible, you can take them on an empty stomach so that they can be easily absorbed by the body. There may also be need for you to take them for a long period of time depending on your level of deficiency.

Furthermore, you should ensure that your diet is rich in iron. Foods like red meat, nuts, dark green leafy vegetables, cereals, dried fruits, etc., can be of great help. You should also take citrus fruits because they are rich in vitamin C which helps your body to absorb iron. If excessive bleeding is the cause of the deficiency, you will need to consult a competent medical practitioner in order to help you stop the bleeding. Blood transfusion is also an option if there is an urgent need to boost the iron level.

Prevention

You can prevent iron-deficiency anemia by eating foods rich in iron and vitamin C. Mothers should give breast milk to their children and, if possible, infant formula fortified with iron. Foods rich in iron include meat, like pork, chicken, lamb and beef, beans, pumpkin and squash seeds, eggs, seafood, such as clams, sardines, shrimp and oysters, iron-fortified dry and instant cereals, leafy greens, such as spinach raisins and other dried fruit.

Article Source:  Causes and Treatment of Iron-Deficiency Anemia

How You Can Prevent Vitamin D Deficiency

By Anand Kumar

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin which is produced when your skin is exposed to the sun. It can also be found in some foods and it is notorious for helping the body to absorb calcium from foods in order to maintain healthy bone cells. It also sustains muscle health, boosts cell growth, curtail inflammation, enhances immune system and regulates blood pressure.

Vitamin D deficiency is caused when your serum vitamin D level is below 20 nanograms/millimeter (ng/ml). It can also occur when there is an insufficiency of the vitamin in your diet or your body cannot absorb and metabolize the ones you consume.

Furthermore, if you live in a place with a high latitude, you may be at more risk of vitamin D deficiency because you may have less access to the sun's ultraviolet-B (UVB) rays. Staying too much indoors is also a contributing factor and if you live in a highly-polluted territory, you may have a lesser access to sun's rays. The use of excessive sunscreen on your skin to block UV rays may also be a contributory factor while those with darker skin types need more exposure.

It is unsafe to self-diagnose a vitamin D deficiency because its symptoms are similar to many other ailments. Hence, it is very important to conduct a laboratory test in order to establish the ailment. However, some symptoms that may be noticed are weak bones, depression, chronic pain, rising blood pressure, exhaustion even with adequate sleep, unexplained infertility, weakness of the muscle, just to mention a few.

Boosting your vitamin D levels is as easy as ABC. You can take over-the-counter supplements or multivatimin preparations, while the consumption of foods like salmon, tuna, cheese, liver, egg yolk, milk, cereals, etc., is advisable. It is very important to expose your skin to sunlight and if you have a history of skin cancer or you have a very pale skin, you should speak with a medical professional to know whether you are fit for sun exposure.

Moreover, you should consider maintaining a healthy body weight and get involved in an outdoor exercise every day. Those with liver, kidney or gut problems should monitor their medical condition properly and get the necessary treatment. Infants who are being breast-fed may not get enough vitamin D since they may not be exposed to sunlight, hence, they can be given supplements in order to make up for this.

Article Source:  How You Can Prevent Vitamin D Deficiency

Ways to Treat Piles With Herbal Remedies and Natural Solutions

By Ajit Kumar

Piles are also termed as Hemorrhoids in medical science. The condition arises when the veins in the anal get swollen. These swollen veins obstruct the normal functioning of the defecation. As a result, there is bleeding and pain at the time of discharge of prolapses. Piles are such a condition in the human being which is not just painful but also embarrassing. Both women and men get diagnosed with this disease owing to several causes. Many people feel ashamed to visit the doctor when such a situation arises. However, there is no point in neglecting the condition as it can lead to worsening the situation even more.

Classification of Piles:

Internal Piles: This type of pile is quite commonly seen in human beings. It is less painful as compared to the external one.

External piles: This is immensely painful as lots of nerve fibres are involved in the anus.

Some Common Signs of Piles:

Bleeding at the time of defecation

Prolapse of the pile mass

Itching and pain in the anal region

Discharge of mucus

Constipation

Ayurvedic View of Piles:

Ayurveda considers piles as the enemy of the human body. Thus, the condition is named as Arsh. Ayurveda has stratified piles into two categories- bleeding and dry. The Ayurvedic view proposes that there are three veins surrounding the anal region- visarajni, samvarni, and the pravahani. These veins get swollen and come out when there is excess pressure created inside the anal canal. This mainly occurs due to digestive disorders in human beings.

Ayurveda says that health complications occur in the human body due to the imbalances of energies inside the body. When there are digestive disorders, the pitta dosha gets aggravated which causes accumulation of toxins in the digestive gut. These toxins are the vital causes of piles.

Ayurvedic Categorization of Piles:

Vata Type: Extremely painful and gives rise to constipation.

Pitta type: This pile is reddish and soft. The symptoms can be excessive fever, thirst, and diarrhoea.

Kapha type: Here the pile size is large and whitish in colour. Digestive problems are even seen.

Herbal Remedies for Piles:

Treating any disease naturally can be really helpful for the patient and also offer long-term relief from the problem. Ayurveda relies on various safe and natural herbs which can treat both dry as well as bleeding piles effectively. These formulations help to reduce the excess pain which people face in piles and also reduce inflammation effectively. The problems of constipation also get addressed to by the herbal remedies for piles. Here is a list of natural ingredients which Ayurvedic medicines for piles are loaded with:

Ginger root

Pippali

Amlaki

Vacha

Haritaki

Vidanga

Black pepper

Haridra

Trikatu

Varuna

These magical herb extracts in the Ayurvedic remedies treat piles without any side-effects caused in the patient. The intake of these natural medicines along with good diet can eliminate several concerning issues caused by digestive disorders. Many well-known physicians today also recommend Ayurvedic treatment over the allopathic medicines available in the medical stores.

Lifestyle and Diet Changes for Fighting Piles:

Avoid having dry, heavy, cool, or stale food

Refined food items like pastries, jams, canned and packaged foods must be avoided totally

Say no to alcoholic beverages and aerated drinks

Avoid pickles

Potatoes and root vegetables other than radish and carrot must be avoided

Include more of fruits and liquid intake in your daily diet.

No spicy food or overeating

Application of sesame oil in case of external piles which is dry can be immensely beneficial. The Ayurvedic treatment of piles can be cost-effective if you start at the initial levels. Sometimes, no operative treatments are also required if the patient religiously follows the herbal remedies.

Ath Ayurdhamah is dedicated to restoring and maintaining the lost balance between physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, through the understanding and practice of age-old systems of Ayurveda and Yoga. Our strength lies in understanding the body and its performance at constitutional level and that is what we apply to our Remedies.

Our products manufacturing process uses herbs which have passed through multi-staged & rigorous selection process. We ensure careful selection and sourcing of herbs, minerals and oils from the best sources and appreciate the fact that hygiene and high quality control standards are critical in the manufacturing of these medicines and products to get optimum results. All our products are Approved by Ayush department and we are GMP certified.

Article Source:  Ways to Treat Piles With Herbal Remedies and Natural Solutions

Science or Arts?

By Awele Danielle Asianah

In my third year in junior school, just like my fellow Nigerian school mates, stereotypes made me believe that I had to be a science student to be considered a person who would most likely be successful in the future. A science student offers the core science subjects, therefore such a person would most likely be an engineer or medical doctor. Those two professions are also considered the only good ones in Nigeria. So, I had to tell myself that I would be a doctor. I mean that was what my father loved to hear.

Now, I had moved onto the next stage, first year in senior school as a science student. My new best friends became my physics, biology and chemistry textbooks. It was no longer a joke seeing as one's high school grades make up the most important part of your transcript for university admissions. Lo and behold, I found myself forcefully studying hard to get good grades in these subjects yet I had lost interest in the sciences. At this point, I asked myself several times if I actually wanted to study medicine or it was just the stereotypes serving as my decision maker.

The belief still holds in Nigeria that only those who take classes in art subjects can be lawyers. Being engaged in group conversations with my peers often time became discouraging because many of my friends laughed at my decision of becoming a lawyer. They made jest since I offered mainly science subjects in senior school. Yet, possessing grit, I refuse to falter in pursuing my dream of becoming a lawyer.

Another mentality I think Nigerians have is that if a child does not score a hundred percent in anything that they do, they automatically do not understand anything that they learn in school. But that should not be the case. Your intelligence should not be determined by only tests. To think of it, why then do we praise these so- called over intelligent people when we do not know if they actually scored a hundred percent in every test they took.

It is saddening that young people instead of being motivated are usually shouted at for not making perfect grades. Notwithstanding, every human has the same brain capacity so we all can get the amazing grades. Do not be distracted by people but instead focus on the most important things that you have to deal with now. Challenge yourself to do better than you could ever expect. Therefore, you need to work harder than you think.

I encourage people to never be discouraged in pursuing the career that they truly desire. An individual can be successful whether or not he/she is a science student or whether he/she had the best grades while in high school. Stereotypes we have in the Nigerian society should not affect what you want or what you would like to be in the future. Your drive should instead be moved by the passion you possess.

This is a call to readers to not be influenced by stereotypes in making decisions and allowing their passion for things be the true reason for choosing future careers.

Article Source:  Science or Arts?

Sneak Peak Into the Lives of a PhD Scholar: The Truth Bombs Revealed

By Mehwish Majeed

Since childhood, I had this innocent wish to have the title of a doctor with my name. Little did I know that earning this title needs a lot of sacrifices. The first and the foremost sacrifice is giving up your youth. Looking at the Facebook profiles of your age fellows getting married, traveling, and doing stuff normal people do is always the difficult part but then again we, the Ph.D. scholars have our own definition of happiness which others may not understand. So, are you ready to dive deeper into the lives of Ph.D. scholars? Let's get going then.

Finding that Special One

It is believed that your adult life depends on that special person that enters in your life. Well, it is fully true for Ph.D.'s as well, except that for us that special person is our supervisor. When people of our age spend time praying to get their dream partner, we are praying to get a good supervisor. Yes, not only our Ph.D. but our life after this degree highly depends on the supervisor we get for our Ph.D. thesis. A good Ph.D. Supervisor is like a ray of sunlight at the end of the tunnel. He/she is the one who is there to keep you motivated even in the darkest of times. In short, they are the ones who commit to being there with you in health and in sickness for better and for worse. Ph.D. becomes easy once you find that right person who is made for you. Well, I found one.

Seeing that Special Person Happy

We all have that special person we want to see happy. Well, once again for Ph.D.'s that person is his/her supervisor. For us, seeing our supervisor happy is the ultimate goal we strive for. This is because we know that if they are happy with our work then it means we are going in the right direction. A smile on their faces and a few words of appreciation are all we need to keep going.

Facing the Rejections One after the Other

Yes, you have read it right, we feel proud when we receive rejection after completing the review process as going to the review process in a top-tier journal instead of getting desk rejected is itself a great achievement. It's not that we only want to be a part of the review process but the point is that the rejection rate of top-tier journals is so high that you feel happy on just the fact that your paper was at least not desk rejected.

Getting the Support of the People Who Matter to You

Oh no, right now I am not talking about the family or friends. For a Ph.D. scholar, getting the support of the thesis approval committee is what is the most important. We feel lucky when we are able to convince our research board that there is a strong rationale behind conducting the Ph.D. thesis which we have proposed. I will not exaggerate it but this process is more or less like a war of a Ph.D. scholar versus the research board.

Watching Others Struggling

I will be very honest here, most of us have mixed feelings on seeing other Ph.D. scholars being stuck in their research or living a single life or facing rejections from journals. It's not that we are selfish or jealous but seeing others facing the same issues make us feel relaxed that we are not the only people facing problems in Ph.D.

This is our life and these are a few little moments of happiness for us. The truth is only a Ph.D. scholar can understand this. So if you are a Ph.D. scholar then always remember that there comes ease after every hardship. Sometimes, you may feel that it is not worth it, that no one in the world understands the stress you are going throughout this degree but let me assure you, your family and friends may not understand this but they surely want to see you happy. If you have managed to earn this status then you can definitely reach your final destination as well. So be brave and keep working hard.

Mehwish Majeed is a Ph.D. scholar at International Islamic University, Islamabad. She is also working as a lecturer at Capital University of Science and Technology, Islamabad. She likes to share her views on different topics with the community in the form of blog posts and articles.

Article Source:  Sneak Peak Into the Lives of a PhD Scholar: The Truth Bombs Revealed