Causes and Treatment for Piles

'Hemorrhoids' is the medical term for the condition more commonly known as Piles. They are a mass of swollen rectal or anal blood vessels. These veins are situated in the lower part of the anus and rectum. Hemorrhoids are of two types:

• Internal
• External

Internal hemorrhoids lie deep inside the rectum and are not normally visible to the naked eye. They don't usually hurt, but their presence is marked with the symptom of bleeding through the anus.

External hemorrhoids get formed in the anal region and create discomfort. When an external hemorrhoid protrudes through the anus, it can be seen and felt. Sometimes blood clots can form within the mass that slips down; it can be extremely painful.

Causes for formation of hemorrhoids

• Diet: This is the primary reason for the formation of hemorrhoids. Low fiber diets, highly processed foods and inadequate intake of water can all cause piles.
• Elderly people and pregnant women are, in general, likely to develop hemorrhoids.
• A family history of weak rectal veins may be another cause.
• Excessive abdominal pressure due to obesity, pregnancy, prolonged standing or sitting, coughing, straining on the toilet, holding on to your breath during labor, vomiting and sneezing can all cause hemorrhoids.

Symptoms

• Bright red bleeding from the anus: blood may streak the toilet paper or bowel movement
• Swollen, painful lump near the anus
• Itching
• Pain and tenderness during bowel movements
• Mucus discharge

Treatment Options

• Topical creams, ointments and suppositories
• Sitting in warm water or sitz bath: A bathtub shaped like a chair in which one bathes in a sitting position, immersing only the hips and buttocks.
• Painkillers
• Sclerotherapy Injections: An internal haemorrhoid can be injected with a solution that creates a scar and closes off the haemorrhoid. The injection will only hurt a little.
• Banding: A special tool secures a tiny rubber band around the haemorrhoid, shutting off its blood supply almost instantly. Within a week, the haemorrhoid shrivels and falls off.
• Coagulation: Using either an electric probe, a laser beam, or an infrared light, a tiny burn painlessly seals the end of the haemorrhoid, causing it to close off and shrink.
• Surgery: For large internal haemorrhoids or extremely uncomfortable external haemorrhoids, your doctor may choose traditional surgery, called haemorrhoidectomy.

Trust experienced Proctologists at Kauvery to correctly diagnose and treat your rectal health issues. If you have symptoms like rectal itching, pain, bleeding or any other unusual symptoms, don't waste precious time waiting. Uranus - Bottom Clinic offers treatment for a wide variety of health problems like piles, fissures, fistulas, tumours. 

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Why you should breastfeed your baby

a. Breast milk contains valuable antibodies that help prevent disease and may reduce the risk of your baby developing allergies.

b. There is strong evidence that children who were breastfed score higher on IQ tests.

c. Always at the right temperature and no hassle of sterilizing bottles

d. Studies show that breastfeeding provides protection for the mother against ovarian and breast cancer and osteoporosis

e. Strengthens Mom and Baby bonding

f. It prepares the baby for different tastes later in life as breast milk tastes different according to the mother’s diet unlike formula milk. 

g. Breast feeding helps baby to attain a healthy weight. Helps against developing obesity and Type 2 Diabetes later in life. 

h. It’s easy on the budget. Can feed baby any time, any place at no additional cost. 

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LOL Prescription With Chennai's First Real Doctor-Clown

Most hospital clowns can manage a bandaid. Doctor Rohini Rau, on the other hand - juggles a whole emergency ward and a prescription for laughter side by side.

However, if you've been following Chennai's theatre circuit, then you know that this 28-year-old is no stranger to acting. "I've been on stage ever since I was 11, so when I became a doctor this seemed like the perfect way to bring those two worlds together," says the duty medical officer who is less than a year-old at Kauvery Hospital.

The idea was sparked when her mother Aysha Rau of Little Theatre was doing an online course on Child Psychology and happened to be put in touch with a medical clown last year. Shortly after, 13 actors went through a three week workshop with the New York Goofs, a clown school - of course at the end of it, Rohini was the only certified 'medical' clown being the only doctor in the group.

While she does everything from sing Old MacDonald in Tamil for kids in the ICU to pull out her fake syringe that doubles up as a flute - for Rohini the best part of the job is that this prescription of meds works instantly. "You should see their faces, patients just light up when there is a little fun in the room. And we get the nurses to join in as well, so that way instead of being perceived as the strict ladies that yell for injections, they appear more human to the kids."

And it isn't just the little ones who enjoy the clowning around, as it turns out Rohini and her clown colleagues get just as much enthusiasm from senior citizens, some as old as 90!

With a session a week at both the Government Children's Hospital, Egmore and Kauvery Hospital, Alwarpet - the troupe usually plans their routine well ahead of time. It is noteworthy to mention that whether this covers a mime, a story or a joke - each flight of humour is designed to empower the patient. "After a major surgery, you often feel out of control with your body, or even helpless to make decisions. So we put it back in their hands as clowns...failing humourously and miserably at a simple task like opening a door, but then giving the patient the power to use the magic word that will only then have it open."

And in the end, the smiles are contagious. For a few moments, folks that are sick 'forget' to be patients, and just be.

Blurb: Research shows that patients need less painkillers and anaesthesia after a generous dose of laughter.

This article published in The New Indian Express on March 3, 2016.

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Some Interesting Sleep Facts

Sleep Hygiene 

Healthy sleeping habits known as sleep hygiene can help you shift from daytime frenzy to night time slumber.

Go to sleep when you are tired and avoid caffeine four to six hours before bedtime. Don't smoke near bedtime, and finish dinner several hours before going to sleep. Keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and cool, and only use it for sleeping and sex.

And don't drink too much water. If you do, you'll wake up because you'll need to use the bathroom.

Snoring and Sleep Apnea

Snoring is a common condition most people suffer. Or rather most partners of chronic snorers suffer! 

But watch out, it may not be a simple condition to laugh about. It may be Sleep Apnea. If your snoring is loud which stops many times and resumes with a gasp, then you must consult the physician to get yourself treated. When airflow drops when you stop breathing, oxygen levels in the blood come down. Your brain responds during your sleep to kick start your breathing. So you might resume breathing with a choke or a gasp. 

But not all snorers have sleep apnea. The key is to watch how you feel in the day. If you are sleepy, irritable, tired then you must check out that condition. If you are normal the following day, then there is nothing to worry about. 

Confusional Arousals 

Confusional arousals usually occur when a person is awakened from a deep sleep during the first part of the night. This disorder, which also is known as excessive sleep inertia or sleep drunkenness, involves an exaggerated slowness upon awakening.

People experiencing confusional arousals react slowly to commands and may have trouble understanding questions that they are asked. In addition, people with confusional arousal often have problems with short-term memory; they have no memory of the arousal the following day.

Nightmares

Nightmares are vivid night time events that can cause feelings of fear, terror, and/or anxiety. Usually, the person having a nightmare is abruptly awakened from REM sleep and is able to describe detailed dream content. Returning to sleep is usually difficult.

Nightmares can be caused by many factors, including illness, anxiety, the loss of a loved one, or negative reactions to a medication. Call your doctor if nightmares occur more than once a week or if nightmares prevent you from getting a good night's sleep for a prolonged period of time.

Night Terrors

A person experiencing a night terror abruptly awakes from sleep in a terrified state, but is confused and unable to communicate. They do not respond to voices and are difficult to fully awaken. Night terrors last about 15 minutes, after which time the person usually lies down and appears to fall back asleep.

People who have night terrors (sometimes called sleep terrors) usually don't remember the events the next morning. Night terrors are similar to nightmares, but usually occur during deep sleep.

People experiencing sleep terrors may pose dangers to themselves or others because of limb movements. Night terrors are fairly common in children, mostly between ages 3 and 8. Children with sleep terrors will often also talk in their sleep or sleepwalk.

This sleep disorder, which may run in families, also can occur in adults. Strong emotional tension and/or the use of alcohol can increase the incidence of night terrors among adults.

Sleepwalking

Sleepwalking occurs when a person appears to be awake and moving around, but is actually asleep. He or she has no memory of the episode. Sleepwalking most often occurs during deep non-REM sleep (stages 3 and 4 sleep) early in the night and it can occur during REM sleep in the early morning.

This disorder is most commonly seen in children between ages 5 and 12; however, sleepwalking can occur among younger children, adults, and seniors.

Sleepwalking appears to run in families. Contrary to what many people believe, it is not dangerous to wake a person who is sleepwalking. The sleepwalker simply may be confused or disoriented for a short time upon awakening. 

Although waking a sleepwalker is not dangerous, sleepwalking itself can be dangerous, because the person is unaware of his or her surroundings and can bump into objects or fall down. In most children, it tends to stop as they enter the teen years.

Parasomnias are disruptive sleep disorders/dysfunctions that can occur during arousals from REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep or partial arousals from non-REM sleep. 

Insomnia is a sleep disorder. People with insomnia have trouble sleeping: difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is most often thought of as both a medical sign and a symptom that can accompany several sleep, medical, and psychiatric disorders characterized by a long term difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep or sleep of poor quality. Insomnia is typically followed by functional impairment while awake. Insomnia can occur at any age, but it is particularly common in the elderly. 

Insomnia can be short term (up to three weeks) or long term (above 3–4 weeks); it can lead to memory problems, depression, irritability and an increased risk of heart disease and automobile related accidents.

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6 things NOT to say when you are visiting the sick

#1 - It’s a terrible illness doing its rounds, and it takes 6 months to actually get cured. 

This line will really put off a patient who is all set to go back to work the following week. 

#2 - Oh My God, You look terrible! 

Patient already knows that. The mirror keeps telling that line. You don’t have to rub it in. You should also not say, You Look Great. That’s a blatant lie and again the patient knows it. 

#3 - Let me know how I can help you. 

Don’t saddle the poor patient with mental stress of finding ways for you to help, although you meant that line as rhetoric. Instead you can say, Let me cook for you on Friday. 

#4 - My aunt’s nephew had some illness like yours and after a long stay in hospital he finally died. But of course you won’t. You will get better soon. 

Do not talk about other relatives’ illnesses and worse , do not talk about how they became sicker and passed on. Last thing a patient wants to hear. 

#5 - My friend’s employer’s sister had this illness and this was the drug she was taking... Why don’t you try that? It might work better than what your doctor is giving you. 

Please never interfere in the treatment and put wrong ideas into the patient’s head. This is downright dangerous. 

#6 - I had to wade through traffic and wait for the elevator for more than 20 minutes to reach here. 

Don’t make the visit sound like an obligation.

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