Archive for October, 2008

Water pollution: Chemical Polution

A diverse nature of chemical pollutants are derived from industrial and agricultural wastes. These wastes are more commonly finding their way to water supply systems. These pollutants include cyanides, detergent solvents, organic acids and minerals, organ phosphorus compounds, dyes, bleaching agents, pigments nitrogenous substances, ammonia, sulphides, toxic and biological organic compounds. Chemical Pollutants can effect men’s health directly and indirectly (by accumulating in aquatic life like fish, which are consumed as food). The main concern of water pollutants (chemical) is their long term effects that can occur even if present at small level and exposed to prolonged periods of months and years. Their long term effects are also non-specific and difficult to detect and determine. Some new chemical pollutants are difficult to remove with conventional water treatment methods. In developed countries, water-borne communicable disease are now rare and they are now focusing on chemical pollutants of water.

The water is associated to the following problems in addition to the above:

(1) Cardiovascular disease: Hardness of water have beneficial effect on cardiovascular system. Soft water can cause cardiovascular problems if consumed for prolonged period. Example of soft water is rain water.

(2) Dental health : The presence of fluoride (fluorine) at around 1mg per liter is essential in drinking water for dental and bone health. Fluorides below the above level causes dental caries and if it is in excess it causes dental fluorosis.

(3) Cyanosis in infants: High nitrate concentration in water can cause methemoglobinemia. This is rare but can occur if water from farmland gain access to public water supply.

(4) Some diseases are due to insects which carry the organism and they breed in water or nearby water. They are malaria, filarial, dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, onchocerosis, African trypanosomiasis, and arboviruses etc.

(5) Some diseases are transmitted due to inadequate filtration of water like, ascariasis, shigellosis etc. Some diseases are transmitted due to inadequate use of water, like scabies, trachoma, conjunctivitis.

Water Related Diseases

Human Health can be affected by drinking contaminated water through food or directly as drinking water and also by use of contaminated water for personal hygiene or recreation (swimming pools for swimming and diving and other water sports). The term water related disease include water borne disease also. Developing countries carry a heavy burden of water borne diseases due to lack of safe drinking water supply. Among the water borne and water related diseases diarrhea is most important. Water related disease can be biological (water borne disease) and chemical.

Biological: They are two types those caused by the presence of infective agents in water and those due to presence of aquatic host in water.

(1) Due to Infective agents:

These can be subdivided by the type of the infective agent present in water-

(a) Viral: Viral hepatitis (due to hepatitis A virus, Hepatitis E virus) poliomyelitis and rotavirus diarrhea in infants.

(b) Bacterial: Typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, Escherichia coli (E. coli) diarrhea, cholera, bacillary dysentery, Travelers diarrhea etc.

(c) Protozoal: Amoebissis (antameba histolytica), giardiasis (giardia lamblia).

(d) Helmintic: Worm infestation like round worm, thread worm and hydrated disease.

(e) Leptospiral: Weill’s disease

(2) Due to presence of aquatic host:

(a) Snail: Schistosomiasis.

(b) Cyclopes : guinea worm, fish tape worm.

Acne: Treatment & Management

Before we talk about Acne treatment, we should have clear scientific idea and knowledge about acne. We should know what is acne and causes of acne. Acne is chronic inflammatory disease of pilosebaceous glands. Symptoms are seborrhea, formation of comedones, papules and pustules. Causes of acne are seborrhea, somedogenesis, colonization of pilosebaceous duct with Propionibacterium acnes and production of inflammation. Acne is more common in people whose skin type is oily. This is due to the excess production of sebum from pilosebaceous glands.

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Water Pollution

Pure uncontaminated water dose not occur in nature. The natural water contain impurities both natural and man made. The natural impurities are not dangerous like man made impurities. The natural impurities are dissolved gas (nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide which are picked up during rain), and dissolved minerals (salts of calcium, magnesium and sodium). The minerals are due to contact of water with soil. Natural water also contain suspended impurities (clay, sand, mud, silt etc.) and microscopic organisms (bacteria, virus, planktons, fungi etc). All the natural impurities are derived from the soil, catchments area and atmosphere.

Water pollution by man made containments are more serious which is generally due to human actives mainly urbanization and industrialization. The sources of man made water pollution are

(1) Sewage: This contain pathogenic organism and organic (decomposable) matter. Main constituents of sewage is human excreta with water.

(2)Industrial and trade wastes: These contain toxic agents from synthetic, organic compounds to metals and metal salts.

(3) Agriculture pollutants: These are mainly chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In many parts of the world like India and Kazakhstan due to uncontrolled use of pesticide and fertilizers(chemical) their content in soil and water has crossed normal acceptable limits, which is not harmful to health of general population.

(4) Physical pollutants: Heat (thermal pollution) and radioactive substance are present in water.

Indicators of water pollution:

The following are the indicators of water pollution, the total amount of suspended solids, concentration of chlorides, BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) at 20 degree centigrade, nitrogen, Phosphorus and absence of dissolved Oxygen.

In presence of high quality treatment (purification) of water, pollution of water may still be there due to corrosion of pipelines, leaky joints and due to cross connection of water supply pipe with that of sewage drain. That is why surveillance is required at every point in the water supply system to ensure safe drinking water to the consumer.

Occupational Acne

Oil and Tar Acne: This acne like eruption occurs in areas of skin exposed to and directly in contact with oil and crude tars. It is not common now but out break still occurs. Many patients presents with periorbital (around orbit or eye ball) comedones. People with acne vulgaris are more prone to develop, but it is not proven. Men are more commonly involved then women . The skin shows comedones and rarely inflammatory lesions. If inflammatory lesion are present they are superficial. Thighs and lower arms are more prone to develop lesion, which occurs within 6 weeks of exposure. The commonest oil involved are impure paraffin mixture used in engineering industry.

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Health Insurance for Visitors

Nowadays tourism is the largest industry in the world. Tourists visit a place for different purpose; some visit just for a vacation and some visit for education and eagerness to know the unknown and see the unknown. Tourists visiting a different country need to be covered by insurance for the touring time for different health needs. Specially for the tourists and visitors from a western country who are visiting a developing country need Visitors Health Insurance for the duration of stay in the foreign country. Those from developing countries also need Visitors Health Insurance due to the high cost of health services in the western countries compared to developing countries.

The Visitors Health Insurance field is most developed in the USA in compare to European countries and other countries of the world. This is mostly available for the tourists visiting USA and designed and planed for the duration of stay in USA. These visitors health insurance plans give protection to the visitors from other foreign countries. Unforeseen medical expenses that may arise due to sickness or accidents during the stay in USA are covered in these visitors health insurance plans.

The Visitors Health Insurance cover all the medical and health related expenses that may arise during visiting USA and include expenses for the duration of hospital stay, medicine bills, surgical procedures, all the diagnostic procedure costs and other costs of hospitalization.

Internet has made things simple for every thing including Visitors Health Insurance and Visitors Medical Insurance are available over the internet. You can buy visitors health insurance in the internet. You have to fill up a form online and get the required visitors health insurance policies of your choice. You have option to choose from more than a dozen companies according to your likings. One should always buy visitors health insurance while visiting a foreign country.

Weight loss surgery: an Overview

Weight loss surgery is a life-altering decision and one of the most important decisions a person will ever make in his/her life time. So one should consider pros and cons before deciding on to go ahead with weight loss surgery or not and if going for surgery which one of the surgeries to prefer. For this patient should be educated about the procedures and also benefits and adverse effects of the surgical procedure.

The following are some of the weight loss surgery which are available for a patient with obesity: Liposuction, gastric bypass surgery (gastric/stomach bending surgery) etc.

Lap band or laparoscopic surgery is very popular. Among weight loss surgery procedures gastric bypass surgery or laparoscopic surgery or lap band is the most important in the treatment of morbid obesity. Morbid obesity is when BMI (body mass index) is between 40 to 49.9. In normal person BMI is between 18.5 to 25. in patients with morbid obesity due to excess body fat there are higher chances of cardiovascular problems and to overcome these cardiovascular problems weight loss surgery is performed. Lap band surgery is available in many countries including Toronto, Canada. Cibo clinic is located at central Toronto “Lap band surgery Toronto“ with state-of-the-art bariatric care medical facilities. The main aim is to help the obese patient maintain their weight within normal limit for life long. The team which help patients maintain their weight include surgeons, anesthetists, nurses, nutritionist, psychotherapist and physiotherapist.

In gastric bypass surgery first stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger, lower “remnant” pouch and then re-arranges the small intestine to allow both pouches to stay connected to it. Gastric bypass surgery can be of Gastric bypass, Roux en-Y (proximal), Gastric bypass, Roux en-Y (distal), Loop Gastric bypass (”Mini-gastric bypass”) type.

The following complications may arise after gastric bypass surgery- infection, hemorrhage, bowel obstruction, hernia, thromboembolism and nutritional deficiency. Anastomotic leakage, anastomotic stricture and dumping syndrome can be other complication.

Lap band surgery is the commonest surgery performed for treatment of obesity.

Baby Acne and Juvenile Acne

Infantile (baby acne) and juvenile acne mainly affects male babies of 3 to 24 months of age and may continue up to age of 5 years. The lesion are more localized and commonly affects cheeks. The lesions contain comedones, papules and pustules, and sometime it may include nodules and scarring also. Another disease which is almost same as acne is seen among infants in first 3 weeks of life called neonatal cephalic pustulosis. Here also papules and pustules are seen in cheeks. These are commonly due to Malassezia sympodiales. This is self limiting disease and need no treatment. But topical antifungal creams can be of help.

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