Quick Tips: Diabetes And Shift Work

Diabetes has become a household name now. Majority of people suffer from this disease. But there are some ways to manage it. It all depends on a healthy routine of medicine, eating, exercise and sleep. But when you work night shifts or have changing work shifts, it can seem like there's nothing  at all routine about your life. In such a condition, it is more of a challenge to manage diabetes. But, it can be done. Here are some tips which will help you to have a control on your blood sugar level even if you are working in shifts.

Get organized

• Talk to your doctor, diabetes nutritionist, or diabetes educator. He or she will help you make a plan for dealing with your shift work.
• Have a backpack, briefcase, or large purse that always contains your at-work essentials like, a blood sugar meter, planned snacks, emergency snacks, medicines, a water bottle, lunch, an ice pack.
• Tell your employer that you have diabetes. Show him or her your plan. Ask for regular breaks, a place to store and take your insulin or other medicine, and a place to rest when you need it.

Manage your blood sugar

• Test your blood sugar every couple of hours. Working in night shifts or constantly changing shifts can affect your blood sugar in ways that may surprise you.
• Keep a detailed report of your blood sugar readings, medicine doses, exercise and sleep. This will help you and your doctor see patterns and make plans to deal with them.
• Consider updating your blood sugar meter. The record keeps track of carbohydrate averages per meal.
• If you take insulin, consider using an insulin pump.

Plan your meals

• Try planning a week's worth of your at-work lunches at a time, so that you avoid the snack machine or the nearby fast food restaurant.
• Are you often too tired to make dinner after work? Keep a supply of healthy, ready-to-eat snacks, such as, hard boiled eggs, fruit, cheese sticks, beef or turkey jerky, single servings of low sugar, nonfat yogurt or cottage cheese, or  a sugar-free gelatin dessert.
• Some jobs make it hard to take a snack break. Keep something in your pocket, like a small bag of dried fruit or unsalted nuts or a low-carbohydrate cereal bar.

Keep up your exercise

• Your regular exercise routine at home may be hampered if you work at nights or your shift keeps changing. Find a way to make it a part of your routine. Set some goals. Take the time to think about what is getting in the way of your success and what you can do to get around those barriers.
• At work, take a walk during breaks. If your's is a desk work, do some stretching in front of your computer.
• Use your commute to do some extra walking. Park several blocks away, or get off the bus a few stops early.

Get enough sleep

• Avoid caffeine drinks 4 to 6 hours before bedtime.
• Avoid heavy meals close to bedtime. But a light snack may help you sleep. Ask your doctor if you should snack before sleep.
• Be aware of a problem called shift work sleep disorder. If you have trouble sleeping because of your work shift, talk to your doctor.
• Measure your blood sugar before you go to sleep. This is especially important if your sleep time changes.

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Superfoods – The 6 New Food Items To Try Out This Season

A proper growth and healthy body depends upon the type of food you consume. Different types of food items have different qualities in them. You should know the qualities of specific food items and consume them so that you know what you're consuming. In the recent times, certain superfoods have come up in the market which can enhance your health. These superfoods are rich in minerals, proteins, vitamins as well as anti-oxidants and provide the required nourishment to your body. Moreover, these food items will help you safeguard yourself from different types of diseases including Cancer. So, in order to be on the safer side, you should consume the superfoods.

Let's take a look at the 6 top superfoods available for you in the market at present:

Kumquats: In the recent times, kumquats have gained immense popularity. These are rich in Vitamin-C. Eating just 5 of these tiny fruits will not only provide you with Vitamin-C but will also provide you with 6gm of fibre. You can have them as snacks. You will be surprised to note that you can eat the peel.

Cacao nibs: This is another superfood which has gained popularity in the recent times. This is an anti-oxidant rich superfood. You can add a quarter cup of antioxidant-rich, heart-healthy cacao in your diet on a regular basis. A cup full of this fruit contains 9gm of fibre. You can mix them into baked goodies or trail mix.

Nori: If you are looking for a superfood, then you can 

definitely consume Nori. You will be surprised to note that this seaweed has only 10 calories per sheet. Apart from this, it is also a good source of protein. You can garnish your rice with this superfood or use them in soups.

Hemp hearts: Of late, this superfood has become quite popular in the market. Three tablespoons of these hemp hearts will contain 10 g of protein, plus omega-3s and iron. You can add them to granola or smoothies and have them.

Manuka Honey: Another popular superfood in the recent times is Manuka Honey. It is known to have natural antibacterial properties. This is one of the best things that will help get you through easily with the flu season. You can drizzle it over the yogurt and enjoy it regularly in your diet.

Pomegranate: Yes, though it is a common food item, you can consider this to be a superfood.  You will be surprised to note that it is quite rich in Vitamin-K which is known to improve bone strength. Apart from this, it also contains disease-fighting B vitamins. You can easily toss the seeds in a salad.

So, now that you know about the superfoods, you should try to consume them regularly. Include these food items in your food platter so that you can lead a safe and healthy life. You may not find them in the regular local stores but you can definitely find them in the super-market and the shopping malls.

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3 Ways To Fight The Common Seasonal “End Of Winter” Fatigue

Winter is ready to bid goodbye, as spring flaunts its pleasant presence. But, while winter is retreating, it leaves with us some common seasonal “end of winter” fatigue. Lack of sunlight, sleep and energy irritates all and one gets sugar cravings. These are nothing, but, the symptoms of a seasonal change. It's your endocrine system and one of its most important parts – the adrenal gand – that is unable to keep up with all the stress and pressure of your everyday life. You may think that a nice vacation in a warm climate might help. But, its wrong. It might make things better for a little while, but a week later you will start feeling tired and stressed out just the way you felt before. The main reason you are feeling this way is the basic nutrient insufficiency. In this blog, I'll help you with three ways to get rid of all these unpleasant feelings and fatigue.

Start taking minerals – Minerals are even more important than vitamins. Mineral deficiency causes irritability, muscle weakness, muscle cramps, general fatigue, sugar cravings, skin, nails, hair problems and much more. Most minerals are very hard to absorb from tablets. It's much more effective if you take them in liquid form. Some energy drinks are very useful which not only provide you great support for the day but are equally tasty. Taking these drinks once in a day before breakfast will help. Taking liquid is much much better and more beneficial. But, if you really hate taking liquids, you can try some tablets. Two tablets two times a day with food is the prescribed dosage. You can take liquid, even if you are taking tablets.

Start taking essential fatty acids – Fatty acids are some of the most important things for normal functioning of the immune system, brain, heart, lungs, liver, bone, skin, hair and nail structure. Some of the food sources of essential fatty acids are fish, shellfish, flaxseed (linseed), hemp seed, soya oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, leafy vegetables and walnuts. It's better not to buy fish oil from your local pharmacy because it does not have Omega 6 in it and is usually highly processed. It can't attract oxygen to your cells which is its main function.

Support your adrenals with some adaptogens – Adaptogens are herbs that help your body handle stress and utilize fatty acids more efficiently as an energy source. They also help boost your immunity and strengthen your body. You can also take essential fatty acids tablets. Take them once in a day in the mid-afternoon or even twice a day after lunch and at 4 pm, but never take them after 5 – 6 pm – as you don't need too much energy at night.

If you follow these simple remedies - all these together will increase your energy level, reduce irritability, improve your mood and sleep pattern. So, bid goodbye to winter with a big smile on your face without letting the winter blues get to you!

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Health Facts – 6 Facts That We Bet You Didn't Know!

Human body is a mystery in itself. There are some weird and wonderful things that our bodies are capable of doing of. These are small facts which we might notice everyday but we do not realize the importance of these facts. If you learn about these facts, you will definitely get surprised.

So, here are certain health facts that our body is capable of doing of however you might not know them. Let's take a look at them:

1. Sweat glands: You will be surprised to note that there are around two to four million sweat glands which helps to keep our body temperature regulated. Another interesting fact is that women tend to have more sweat glands than men but the sweat glands in men are more active. In a recent study, it has been said that we can get DNA out of a fingerprint because "there were cells shed that stuck to the surface of the fingerprint with sweat."

2. Know your hair: You lose 80 hairs per day. Towards the end of summer, you might lose more hair. However, it should be noted that whether you wash hair daily or once a week, the total hair loss over the week will be the same. In case you face excessive hair loss, then it can be due to hormonal imbalance. If women have polycystic ovarian syndrome, then they can start losing more hair. Apart from this, iron deficiency can also lead to hair fall.

3. Good bacteria on skin: There are around 1000 different types of good bacteria living on the skin. It should also be noted that they help with skin cell turnover and immunity. Apart from this, we leave remnants of them wherever we go.

4. Facts after death: If you are wondering what happens to the body after death, then read on. The body breakdown speeds up once we die. It should always be noted that most of the tissue breakdown is done by the bacteria from our gut. It should also be noted that in hot, humid conditions, any dead human body will start to deteriorate within hours.

5. Your skin: It should be noted here that our skin acts like a conveyer belt. It constantly produces new skin cells at the base layers and pushes up the old, dead cells away. You should also note that apart from our eyes, almost every other part of the surface of the body is dead. We also lose a lot of our skin in clothes, especially the old, dead cells.

6. Waste material: It is an interesting fact that the traces of faecal matters are not only just confined to the toilet pan. Such matters can also be found on hotel TV remotes, aircraft basins and toothbrushes. However, these are microscopic remnants. It should also be noted that Urine is sterile while it is in the bladder. However, it picks up a few germs when on its way out.

Hopefully, now you have a knowledge about some of the unique yet surprising health facts. Search through the Internet and you will know more about these wonderful 6 facts a lot more. With time, the researchers and scientists will be able to provide you with information about more such unique facts. Keep on updating yourself about these facts and know more about human body!

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7 Simple Ways To Get Slim Naturally

Who on earth doesn't want to be slim? One can go to any extent to get a slim body. Also, if you're devoid of fat, you can stay away from a lot of diseases. People hit the gym, go for diet control, and do helluva other things to get rid of those extra inches. In this blog, I'll help you with some ways which you can apply to get slim naturally. If you spend too much time to lose weight, you're likely to give up and go back to your regular habits because they are easier. The key to losing weight is to know the little tricks that make losing weight easy. So, here we go.

1. Eat five time a day, starting with breakfast – Many people skip breakfast, thinking that they are saving themselves some calories. But this rarely works – you end up overeating at other times of the day. In the morning, while you were sleeping, your body has gone without food for several hours. Your body needs the energy to get started. By eating five small meals each day, starting with breakfast, you'll stoke the fires of your metabolism, making it easier to lose weight.

2. Drink more water – Many people reach for food when their body is actually thirsty. Water also helps your body to flush things out, helping you get slim. Drink at least 8 bottles of water per day and try to drink more if you are particularly active or it is a hot day. This will keep you hydrated.

3. Grab a piece of fruit -  Before you leave your house, be sure to take an apple or banana with you. When you're out and about, you may not get healthy snacks when you get hungry. This could leave you straight through the drive-through. However, if you have a piece of fruit with you, you have something to hold you over until you get home.

4. Eat slowly and stop eating before you feel full – Your brain can take up to 20 minutes to realise that your stomach is full. Because of this, you should make sure to stop eating before you eat too much. It helps if you eat slowly instead of gulping a meal in 5 minutes.

5. Watch your portion sizes – Eating too much can negatively affect your plans to lose weight. When you don't watch how much you eat, you'll gain weight instead of losing it. People who stay naturally slim eat in small portions.

6. Don't drink your calories – Whether your poison is energy drinks, lattes, sugary sodas, or even juice, beverages can contain a lot of calories and they don't make you full. Swap these out for low-no-calorie beverages and you'll get slim naturally.

7. Eat cake – Whatever “bad” snack is your favourite, it's ok to eat it sometimes in normal sized portions. Naturally slim people allow themselves a few indulgences because they know that this tends to prevent the overindulging that occurs when you deprive yourself.

So, now you know these tips, you no longer have to worry about shedding those extra calories. By following these simple ways, you can stay slim and fit naturally.

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Healthy Food Choices

The instinct called 'hunger' can drive anyone crazy. Delicious food is the ultimate temptation. But, if you are on a diet or watching your weight, do not give into the temptation. In this blog, I'll help you with some healthy and tasty alternatives to what you have been eating. These food are nutritious as well as light on your waistline. You need to incorporate these healthy foods into your life and shun the high calorie treats.

Dairy products – Dairy products are loved by all. But, milk, yougurt and ice-cream have non-fat versions too. Choose skimmed milk or toned milk over full fat milk, Greek or non-fat yogurt over the full fat version and indulge in fat free ice-cream or sorbets.

Caffeine -  When you are having a cup of hot coffee, exclude the whipped cream, caramel and mocha sauces. Choose an iced latte over a very sugary frappe on a hot day.

Energy bar – When at work, keep an energy bar in your bag instead of calorie laden muffins.

Baked instead of fried – We all love potatoes. But, it is not potatoes that are fattening...it is how we cook them. Have baked potatoes instead of French fries and opt to boil potatoes and add it to your food. When making mashed potatoes, skip the cream and butter.

Fresh fruits -  As a pancake topping, skip the traditional maple syrup and butter. Top it with fresh strawberries, chopped nuts, and whipped yogurt. For a healthy twist on your favourite cereal, top with chopped fruit and dash of honey.

Sweetened cookies – While buying snacks, choose ragi, digestive and oat biscuits instead of cream biscuits and calorie laden cookies.

Plain nuts – When it comes to nuts, remember they are good for your heart but nevertheless contain significant amount of calories, so eat in small quantities. Avoid roasted and salted nuts. Stick to the plain variety.

Lime water – Next time you order a fresh lime soda, have lime water with ice instead. Skipping the soda will save you from those extra calories.

Ultralight beer – When it comes to alcohol, choose quality or quantity. A well-flavoured pint of craft beer is smarter than two pints of ultralight beer. Choose red wine over white wine, vodka and rum. It's good for your heart too.

Peanut butter – Peanut butter is healthier than butter, try making it at home to cut the calories even further.

Dark chocolate – Dark chocolate has fewer calories than milk chocolate and the oxidants it has are great for your skin too.  Switch over to the dark variety slowly but surely.

Multigrain or Wholewheat – Try multigrain or wholewheat bread instead of regular white bread. The former is a healthier alternative. Have homemade chappatis or flatbread instead of that bought in a store or restaurant. The darker they are, the better, as if they are too light, it indicates that refined flour or maida has been used. Avoid maida as much as possible as maida is nutritionally nil. Use couscous and quinoa in some dishes. When it comes to rice, switch to red rice or brown rice instead of the regular white rice.

Lean meats – When it comes to meat, choose leaner cuts of meat. When having chicken, remember that the leg piece has the most amount of fat. Also processed meat like sausages and salami is higher in calories than regular meat. Opt for roasted chicken over fried chicken.

So, this time while planning your diet, follow these food habits. They are delicious, nutritious and beneficial for your health.

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Holi Special – Take Care Of Your Hair Pre And Post Holi

Holi, the festival of colours is knocking at the door! Come March and the weather as well as your surrounding will charm you. You will feel the presence of colours all around you! Of late, the colours of Holi have resulted in health hazards for many of us. Many people face the problem of skin rashes or damaged locks immediately after Holi. Thus, it is important for all of us to take care of our skin and hair pre and post Holi. As far as your beautiful looks are concerned, you need to take special care of them both pre and post Holi. Here are certain steps that can help you in maintaining your hair and preventing any kind of hair damage.

Hair care before playing Holi

Before you start playing with Holi, you need to take steps to care for your precious locks. You should note here that to survive the chemical colours, you will have to provide your hair with extra nourishment as well as protection. The most effective and simplest method to protect your hair will be to massage it with Jaborandi hair oil. You can do it an hour before you start playing with colours. This oil will form a protective layer on your hair and will ensure that no hair damage takes place. Moreover, once you shampoo your hair after playing Holi, the colours will easily get removed. Apart from this,  mixture of jojoba and rosemary oil can also be the right base oil for your hair. These oils will not allow any harmful chemicals to settle down on your hair. The oil will easily penetrate your cortex.

Moreover, the oil also takes care of the dryness which is caused due to weather and the chemical colours. Thus, your hair will receive the required nourishment easily. In order to get better results, you can also soak a towel in hot water and wrap it around your oiled hair. You can leave it for around half an hour so that you can ensure proper penetration of the oil. Also, while you go out to play Holi, you can cover your hair with bandana or cap. This will help you save your scalp.

Hair care after Holi

Once you have finished playing Holi, you will also have to take steps to complete the hair care procedure. As you wash your hair, ensure that you rinse it first with plenty of water. This will help you wash away the dry colours as well as particles of mica. It is better to use a mild shampoo to wash off your hair after playing colours. You can also go for a home-made shampoo consisting of shikakai, reetha and amla or Indian gooseberry soaked overnight, boiled and strained in the morning. You should massage your scalp gently with this shampoo and rise it off with water. Apart from this, add lemon juice into a mug of water and use it as a last rinse. This will restore the acid-alkaline balance of the scalp. You can also apply henna to your hair. Make a paste of henna powder with lemon juice and coffee and enough curd. You can apply it on the hair and wash it off after an hour.

If you follow the above mentioned steps, you will be able to avoid any kind of hair damage due to Holi colours.  In case, if there are any complication, you should immediately contact a trichologist.

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Celebrating Holi – Know The Do's And Dont's That You Should Keep In Mind

Holi is the festival of colours! The weather is fantastic this time and the nature is full of colours during this time. The flowers bloom adding to the beauty of the nature. Thus it is an apt time for celebrating the festival of colours! However, in the recent times, various health hazards have been associated with Holi. The colours used in Holi contains chemicals which can be worst for your skin. Apart from this, there are various other do's and dont's that you should follow in order to take care of your health!

Here are some of the skin care tips and do's and dont's that you need to follow in order to keep yourself safe:

The skin care tips or Do's that you should follow:

Use cleansing milk/liquid soaps: While washing off the colours from your skin, it will be better to use a cleansing milk or a liquid soap. It will not make your skin dry and your skin will feel nourished.

After shampooing, use a conditioner, a small amount of hair serum or oil: It is quite obvious that you will be shampooing your hair after playing Holi. After you shampoo, make sure to use a good conditioner and hair serum or oil. This will help your hair get back the required moisture which might have lost due to the colours.

Use herbal or organic colours on acne-prone skin: If you have an acne prone skin, then it will be better to use herbal or organic colours to play Holi. Such colours are now easily available in the market, albeit, they are a bit costly.

Wear goggles while playing Holi to protect your eyes: To keep your eyes safe, you should try wearing goggles. During Holi, you will be able to find colourful goggles being sold in the market. You can buy one as per your choice.

Consult a doctor, if there are complications: After playing with colours, if you face any kind of complications, then you should immediately consult a doctor. Many a times, you can get skin rashes or eye infections. Consulting a doctor will help you greatly.

Here are certain skin care tips, especially Dont's that you should consider this Holi:

Don't use soap more than twice: Too much usage of soap may lead to dry and irritable skin. So, it will be better if you do not use soap more than twice.

Don't use permanent colours and grease: While playing Holi, play safe. Do not use colours that are permanent in nature. Also, try to avoid grease. Such colours will have a damaging effect on your skin. You should rather use herbal or organic colours.

Do not use retinoid creams on acne: Retinoid creams may damage your skin further. So, it is better to avoid these creams if you are already suffering from skin rashes or infections after playing with colours.

Do not rub or massage your eye if there’s colour in it: If your hands have colours or there is colour in your eyes, then you should never rub or massage your eyes. This can be quite damaging for them.

Go for bleach or facials to remove the colour from your skin: Bleach can be very dangerous for your skin. So, try to avoid bleach facials or any other kind of facials immediately after playing Holi. Give your skin some rest and then you might think of indulging in fruit facials. 

Hopefully, following these Do's and Dont's will ensure that you have a safe Holi!

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What To Do When You Find That The Victim As Well As You Both Are Confused?

Panic situations can arise anytime, anywhere! Suddenly, you might watch out from your window that your neighbour has slowly fallen down. When you step out to check on him, you find that he's awake but is quite lethargic! He tells you that he is not feeling well and wants to go off to sleep. He was just coming over to take help from you! You don't know what to do as he has already fallen asleep! What can you do now? Earlier, he was confused and now you are confused! Well, in such a situation, a special trick can be of great help to you. This trick will help you sort out common causes of this altered mental status and help you decide the next steps that you should take.

It should always be remembered that it is important to get emergency medical help when you are dealing with altered mental condition. In case you cannot arrange for medical help, you can check out the below mentioned tips and suggestions:

Alcohol: If the person has fallen ill due to excessive alcohol consumption, then it will be obvious from the smell or bottles around that person. It might be one of the reasons why they are tipsy or comatose.  You will have to wait and watch. You can try turning them. But do not give them any fluid as it might lead to vomiting.

Epilepsy: Many people suffer from epileptic seizures. If a person has a history of the same, then you will have to be careful. Some of the symptoms include active jerking or bites on the tongue. They might even carry anti-seizure medication with them. You will have to search for it. Give them some space and be there as they wake up.

Insulin: Diabetes patients may suffer from extreme reduction of insulin levels which can be dangerous.  Check out if there is an insulin bottle, pump or alert card with that person. Try to ensure that they get some kind of sweet to eat. This can be the simple sugar that you put in your tea. Once the person is stable, take him/her to a doctor.

Overdose: The victim might have taken an overdose of sedatives, opiate pain medicines or recreational drugs. To know it, you will have to look out for bottles or needle marks on the arms of the person. In order to be on the safer side, you should contact a doctor or take the person to hospital.

Uremia: A buildup of toxic from renal disease leads to Uremia. This can be hard to diagnose if you don't know that the person has kidney disease.

Trauma: This can be also a reason for falling sick and senseless. So, if the victim has previously gone through any kind of accident or fall, it could lead to seizures and senselessness.

Infection: If you know that the victim is suffering from any kind of wound or illness, then there is a high chance that he/she has fallen ill due to this.

Psychiatric medicines or Poisons: Look for psychiatric medicines or poison bottles. If you can sense the excess of carbon monoxide in some way, then ensure that the person gets immediate fresh hair. 

Stroke Signs: Search for stroke signs. You will have to act fast. Check out for signs like face drooping, arm weakness, numbness, slurred speech, etc. and then take the person to a doctor.

Wellness of the victim should be your first aim. So, try to maintain your calm! It will help you do well for the victim as well as for you!

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Exercising During The Holiday Season To Stay Healthy

All year through, we work hard and wait for that time of the year, that is, the holiday season, when we just sit back, relax and have fun. This is very true that holidays are meant to have fun. But, during this span of the year, most of us loose control of our eating habits. We think “it's only a few days” and we want to enjoy this time to the fullest. But, do we think twice, that how much our eating habits in the holiday season can hamper our health!

This celebratory air often leads to excess eating. Just because holidays have arrived, you don't need to increase your exercise regime or go for a diet control. Adopting a healthy, nutritionally sound eating habit throughout the year will help alleviate the infrequent excesses that are a part of normal life. It is commonly assumed that increasing exercise duration and/or intensity during holidays can help burn the extra calories that we put up due to excess eating. No matter, what you eat and how much, that together effect your long-term health, in terms of maths, there is a certain truth to this common belief, that is, if you ate 500 calories too many it goes to follow that burning 500 calories is a seemingly simple solution to balance the caloric scales. This is, however a dangerous paradigm. You may go without checking your nutritional consumption and doing exercises and diet control for a continuous period of time. This may indulge more on binge eating over time. Encouraging a habit where you can “let go” and then “buckle down” afterwards creates a repetitive and uneven pattern of lifestyle that can be taxing, unhealthy and addictive.

So, during your holiday time, you can go for excess eating, but, if you think that you will balance the extra calories by exercising hard and controlling diet for that period of time, then, keep in mind these few questions. What happens after the diet or intense exercise ends? Has the diet or exercise taught you how to act within your nutritional or physical needs? Is the diet or exercise plan of the moment meant to be a long term gig? If it is not long term, then you are still left with the need to investigate and understand for yourself – how much is too much and how little is too little so that you can live the healthiest, and most satisfying life possible.

It is advisable that instead of putting up a plan of exercising hard and controlling diet for a particular span of time, it's better to make it a regular practise. If you take a nutritional diet and exercise the whole year through, you will naturally stay fit and healthy. Your diet and exercise regime should be for a long period of time. Along with this, also check up your nutritional consumption on a regular basis.

In the holiday season, there can be excess eating. But, don't try to balance the extra calorie intake with an intense and hard exercise routine or any quick fix. This can be fatal. Instead, include healthy and nutritious diet in your daily routine and along with that do some exercises regularly. This will help you even at that period of time when you indulge in irregular and unhealthy eating.

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Retrain Your Breathing And Reduce Asthma Attacks And Panic Attacks

Asthma attacks and panic attacks are quite common in many people nowadays! Asthma attacks not only result due to respiratory problems but also due to increase in pollution levels. Apart from this, the stressful life that we lead these days results in panic attacks. In both these cases, you are forced to breathe fast or hyperventilate which might make things worse for you. But proper breathing affects attacks. If you know the right technique of breathing, then you will be able to stop these attacks. The slow and shallow breathing will help you avoid the attacks from coming on. However, you will have to learn to do it straight from a professional in order to be on the safer side.

How regular breathing affects attacks

People who are prone to asthma attacks and panic attacks have a different pattern of breathing. This helps to keep the carbon dioxide levels in the body quite low. For normal people, you do not need to maintain the carbon dioxide level in the blood to a certain range. Your body normally does it. But not many people know that asthma and panic attack patients breathe at a different pace which makes them prone to attacks. If you do not follow the right breathing technique, many a times, it can lead to the smothering feeling, heart palpitations, tingling, dizziness, and other symptoms of a panic attack and make life difficult for you!

Better breathing technique during an attack

Well, you will be surprised to note that slow, deep breathing might not be a good option when you are suffering from panic attack or asthma attack. With deep breaths, you might lose more carbon dioxide. In case of asthma, a deep breath can lead to stretching the lining of the airways and trigger a constriction so that less oxygen containing air gets through. Thus, it will be better if you could indulge yourself in slow and shallow breathing.
 
Prevent attacks with better breathing

You should always remember that for asthma, no amount of breathing exercise can help if you do not take the prescribed medicines or supplemental oxygen. However, proper breathing techniques will help reduce the frequency of these attacks. By practicing the slow and shallow breathing technique regularly, asthmatic patients and panic attack patients will become more normal and will also manage the carbon dioxide levels in your body. The main key here is to learn the technique correctly. If you breathe too shallowly, then you might not get optimal oxygen levels.

Learning breathing techniques

It is always better to take help of a respiratory therapist to ensure that you learn the breathing techniques. You can even take help of a capnometer (respiration monitor) in order to get a feedback whether you are breathing in the correct way or not. Apart from this, the respiratory therapist will also guide you regarding the correct posture and abdominal breathing while learning breathing techniques. Practicing the breathing techniques for 15 minutes for 4 days a week will help you become a master of it.

Those who do not suffer from panic attacks or asthma attacks, can indulge in deep breathing rather than shallow breathing. Even for those who suffer from asthma and panic attacks, the main aim should be not to breath shallow but to breathe more efficiently.

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Do We Need 2 Different Healthcare Programs To Effectively Cover India?

The sub-continent is definitely a unity in diversity. The diversity is of caste, colour, creed and of course, class. When it comes to healthcare, India has been a mixed bag. The nation has a rich history with surgeons like Sushruta and physicians like Charaka who healed many in the ancient history. Then came Ayurveda, which many claim has answers to the most of the incurable diseases.

But somewhere in the middle we lost our path. As the village system gave way to the cities, many Indians were actually left without care. The villagers come to cities for earning their daily bread and if they fall ill, they have to depend on their masters to give them medicines. They can't afford the cost of modern healthcare and also, they can't return to their villages for traditional treatment, because they have come too far from their villages. Illness for them means loss of pay which they can ill afford. These type of population in India is countless. The minimum wage in India is set at $689 per annum for a 48 hours work per week. That is 8 hours a day for 6 days. This would come around to $57 a month (Rs.3,500). This also means that leave of absence means loss of pay. In India there are 400 million daily wage workers. So falling ill is not an option.

On the other hand of the picture, there are city dwellers and middle and upper middle class Indians. They can afford to fall ill and take leave from work as they work in large organisations with health benefits or they have enough to pay for these from their pockets. But, the diseases they suffer from are different than the daily wage workers. They suffer from chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cardiac issues. So, in reality, there are 2 Indias. The poorer India and the richer India. The poorer India deals with malnutrition and infectious diseases and the richer India deals with chronic ones.

In this context, the recently announced Universal Healthcare System in India is going to be ideal for the daily wage workers. This program focuses on nutrition, preventive care, primary health and a government insurance system to cover certain procedures. It is going to be launched in April 2015 and it will cover almost whole of the country by 2019. The program would cost around $26 billion (Rs.1.6 trillion) to initiate and then would cost $11.4 billion annually to sustain. The current spend on healthcare is around $5 billion and that would represent 1% of the GDP. It is a very ambitious and necessary program and the Government has taken a brave step to cover the country this way.

Health insurance can be a good option for urban India. They can pay and are more financially literate. So an insurance plan with incentives to keep their chronic diseases parameters under check would be a great idea.

With limited healthcare resources, its best to give them to those who need it and make incentives to others who can avoid using them. So, we need a dual system, Universal Healthcare for the poor and Health Insurance for those who can afford them. We hope that in the days to come, India will definitely have one of the best strong and effective healthcare system.

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Public Health – India Spends The Lowest On This In The World!

There are various countries in this world which do not spend much on the public health. However, you will be surprised to note that India is one of these countries! Yes, it can be difficult to imagine that a country with the second largest population in the world spends quite a low amount on public health. It is a surprising fact to note that 80% of the healthcare spending in India comes from the private sector. The Indian Government only spends 20% of its budget on public health. So, when you find commercial ads for roads or metro, etc. you might be tempted to wonder why there is so less spending on the healthcare sector.

According to a report published by Accenture, Delivering e-health in India — Analysis and Recommendations, this 20% budget for public health puts India amongst the lowest in the world. The report further goes on to say as to how the focus of the Indian Government has been mainly on health infrastructure and less on the productivity of that infrastructure. It will be surprising for you to find that India has fewer doctors, hospitals and other health infrastructure than any other BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) nations. As a result, the country forces its people to spend a greater percentage of their incomes on private healthcare in comparison to other BRICS nations.

As you go through the title and the topics of Delivering e-health in India — Analysis and Recommendations, an important thing that will force you to think is that it is important to have the right people, right process and right technology on top. Considering the Indian perspective, the healthcare department is run and managed by a motley crew of people who might not be right for the job! We will agree to the fact that healthcare, especially in India, does not attract the kind of professionals like FMCG or Technology attracts. You might be wondering as to why no one is interested in healthcare. One of the major reasons why no one is interested in this department is that for most people the pay is not good compared to FMCG or Technology departments. Moreover, this department might not provide any kind of social security, especially in India. After all, good intentions are not the best way to run a house.

Lower spending on public health not only points toward a sagging economy but it could also indicate problems in financial management in the health ministry. Finance ministry's data analysis shows that  until September 2014, the health ministry has only spent just 42% or less than the funds allocated for it in the annual budget. This is even less than the money spend on public health in the same period last year (2012 – 13) when Congress was in power.

It should be noted here that government's own rules prohibit ministries from spending more than 33% or 1/3rd of their annual allocation in the last quarter of any financial year. So, if a ministry wishes to exhaust its allocated funds, then it will have to spend most of its funds between April and December of a financial year. If they fail to spend it, their spending will be restricted for the last quarter.

Time and again, crisis in the field of medicines have been averted in India with the help of global medical organizations and pharmaceutical companies. Many a times, this crisis comes up due to bureaucratic delays. So, until there is a solution to all these problems, it is not going to be easy to find any good people to build the process on which technology can act.

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