My Dengue Scare

My little daughter shocked us last night with very high fever. She almost had 105F fever once. In fact she had been having mild fever for last 6 days or so. But last nights extrmes really tseted our patience. Though high fever is the first symptom of Dengue, for some reason, I had a gut feeling that she do not have Dengue. But it can not be ruled out because it is happening everywhere. Paracetamol solutions had helped it keep down, but the fever has remained almost entire night.

This morning we rushed to the Apollo Hospital and were prepared to get her admitted if situations demands. Fortunately, she had not shown any other symptoms than high fever. No vomitting, no rashes. The doctor had assumed that probabily it is a viral fever. But he decided against prscribing antibiotics without any tests at this stage. So the poor but brave kid had got done a whole range of blood tests -- from Plattelet Count to Malaria to Dengue. Some results will be available tommorow.

The tests are not cheap. The ELISA test for finding antibodies to check Dengue costs Rs.1500/-. The most basic test for Dengue is a Plattelet Count that costs about Rs.300/-. It is good that the Government of Delhi has decided to make the Plattelet Count test free in many government hospitals.

Learn to identify the Dengue mosquito

My little daughter was inquizitive as to why other kids out in the mosquito infested park have not fallen sick. Well the mosquitos out there are not carier of the disease. Dengue is caused by the mosquito belonging to the genus Aedes. It is different from the common mosquito in our homes. One can not differentiate this one from the common one from the newspaper photos. So I picked up some from the net so that one can easily identify the deadly mosquito. Note the distinguishing features of the Aedes mosquitoes: pointed abdomen, short palpus, and pale bands at the base of each segment on the abdomen. It is also called the Asian Tiger Mosquito for the dark black and white strips.

It is Dengue-3 virus this time

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has confirmed that the virus behind the current outbreak Dengue in the NCR Delhi is the Dengue 3 Genotype III. This strain sneaked into India from West Indies in 2003. Though this strain creates widespread fever, fortunately fatality of this strain is lower. The current outbreak is not caused by the deadlier Dengue-2 strain and so the fatality rate is very low. However, the Dengue-2 strain has also been reported by AIIMS and sources say it is a cause of worry. An outbreak Dengue often records more than one strain active, but one of them becomes more virulent than the others.

There are four strains of Dengue – 1, 2, 3 and 4. One is expected to be infected by the same strain only once in their lifetime as antibodies formed will protect him from that strain forever. Dengue-1 causes high fever and joint pain. Dengue-2 causes haemorrhagic fever resulting in spontaneous bleeding form skin and gums. Dengue-3 causes high fever and Dengue-4 causes DHF (Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever) with shock leading to un-recordable blood pressure. In DHF a person bleeds to death both internally and externally because of excessive lowering of platelets.

The 1996 outbreak was the most fatal caused by the Dengue-2 strain. Over 550 people died in the 1996 outbreak. Fortunately, this strain has not returned with that ferocity. But there is every possibility that it will make a comeback someday.

The update from Delhi is that there has been one more fatality reported in last two days taking the toll to 16.

Dengue update from Delhi

The Govt. of Delhi has decided against decalring the Dengue outbreak as epidemic for the time being. But it has called for a review meeting with officials from neighbouring states on 5th October to take stock of the situation. However, the causuality figure is on the rise with fatalities rising to 15 in Delhi. More than 500 people have been reported to have been affected. However these are official figures and actual figure may be more. Even the Rajasthan Government have confirmed at least 25 deaths from Dengue till yesterday.

Chickengunya outbreak in Kerala :
Living in the Dengue stricken Delhi, I was more worried with the news of another mosquitoes borne disease named Chikungunya which is reported to have assumed epidemic proportion in down south, specially in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. This illness is also spread by the same Aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads Dengue. I was relived to learn that it is less fatal than Dengue. I will be Ernakulum (Kochi) after 12 days on my way to Lakshdweep. Ernakulum district has also been reported to have been affected. I will be spending at least one night there.

I have confirmred the status with the resort office at Kochi and they have told that Kochi has not been affected till now. I wish it remains so. Anyway, I believe that if you are to die, you will die sitting at home. There are bigger worries in an island holiday like Tsunami or some storm. If you are to live, God will find a way to protect you.

Dengue scare in Delhi

Read about Dengue on :

Centre for Disease Control and Prevention website

WHO website

While I was enjoying the extended weekend in the pleasant climate of Dehradun, the tentacles of Dengue have spread to epidemic proportion in Delhi. With 11 deaths and 247 confirmed cases reported in Delhi till October 3rd, the Delhi Govt. is considering declaring it as an epidemic outbreak. Dengue is not new to Delhi, but this time the Dengue has been reported not only from places around Delhi but also from far away places like Lucknow.

Dengue [pronounced Den-ghee] is a flue like illness found in most tropical areas around the world, often after monsoon. This is spread by biting of Aedes aegypti mosquito. Dengue is common in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Australia, and the Americas. It is widespread in the Caribbean basin.

There are two forms of Dengue --- the Dengue fever and the Dengue hemorrhagic fever. While the first one relatively harmless, the second one may be fatal. Most dengue infections result in relatively mild illness, but some can progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever. With dengue hemorrhagic fever, the blood vessels start to leak and cause bleeding from the nose, mouth, and gums. Bruising can be a sign of bleeding inside the body. Without prompt treatment, the blood vessels can collapse, causing shock (dengue shock syndrome). Dengue hemorrhagic fever is fatal in about 5 percent of cases, mostly among children and young adults.

How does it feel to live in Delhi:
Honestly speaking, Dengue has not created panic here. Delhi had received more than twice rainfall this year as compared to the previous year. This has resulted in abnormal growth of mosquitoes, even in the locality I live. Fortunately, there has not been any Dengue case reported from this area. But we have taken pre-cautions to keep mosquitoes away. People living in slums and other low cost congested areas are at much higher risk as people there has very little civic sense. It was quite surprising to observe that one of the death reported this year was from the posh Vasant Vihar locality. Ironically, both the parents of the victim were doctors. Other such high profile fatality was ythe death of an MBBS student of the All India Instt. of Mediacl Science, which is the cradle of Indian medical education.

Are you still drinking Coke and Pepsi!

The issue of pesticides in Coke and Pepsi is still raging on in India. The report of Center for Science and Environment (CSE) was really alarming. Some took it as an opportunity for MNC bashings. But there are other repurcussions as well. Even Pepsi had come out with a statement that they do not say the drinks are safe for children and they never advertise their products for children. However, the Health Minister, who recently had acquired an image of monster with striking medicos, had gone on air saying there are no pesticides. I wonder how many actually believed him. We all know that politicians are no philanthropists. And our health minister, Mr. Ambumoni Ramadoss is certainly not.

I personally do not know whether the drinks have pesticides or not. But I certainly know that it is ACIDIC enough to dissolve many things. I saw it with my eye. Now my good friend Divyesh had sent me an article which says that Coke contains Phosphoric Acid and its pH value is 3.4. This is acidic enough to dissolve our bones and teeth. No wonder why Swami Ramdev keeps telling that Coke and Pepsi is the culprit for Osteoporosis, a disease of brittleness of bones. Before I tell you what else the report says, I share my own incidence.

One fine summer day last year, few of us decided to have cold drinks instead of our regular tea in the Office Canteen at Dehradun. Suddenly someone noticed some black suspended particles in his bottle. When he checked further, there were more than one such thing and some appeared as large as 2mm size. By that time few of us had finished their bottles. But those who were yet to finish were also surprised to find such black floating particles, though smaller in size. They normally go unnoticed because of dirty bottles and water condensation on them. We called the canteen operator who was also caught by surprise. He promptly told us who supplies him and even brought few more bottles from his stock. Most of them had such floating things. We planned to call some TV fellow. The canteen operator willingly gave us a bottle which had quite a lot of suspended particles. We kept it in our office. The next morning a big surprise awaited us. All those suspended things are gone -- dissolved into the drink. Since then we had stopped drinking cold drinks. God knows what goes into it.

That was my experience. Now read what my friend Divyesh has sent:

Have a look at the wrapper on a Coca-Cola 1.5 litre bottle and in the ingredients label you will find phosphoric acid in it. Minute quantities of ethylene glycol is also used (which is acknowledged in the soft drink world for making it really chill").This is popularly known as anti-freeze which prevents water from freezing at 0 degree C and instead drops it by 4-5 degrees with minute quantities. This chemical is a known slow poison in the caliber of arsenic. So, if you manage to drink about 4 liters of Coke within an hour or so, you can die. Read along and give up these dangerous things. Be natural; have flavored milks, butter milk and plain water instead of these "soft" drinks.

Guess what's the pH for soft drinks, e.g. Coke? pH 3.4! This acidity is strong enough to dissolve teeth and bones! Our human body stops building bones at the age of about 30. Soft drinks do not have any nutrition value (in terms of vitamins &minerals). It is high in sugar content, carbonic acid, chemicals i.e. colorings etc.

Some like to take cold soft drinks after each meal. Guess what's the impact? Our body needs an optimum temperature of 37degrees Celsius for digestive enzyme functioning. The temperature of cold soft drinks is very much below 37 degrees or even close to 0 degrees Celsius. This will dilute the enzymes & stress the digestive system. The food taken will not be digested. In fact it will be fermented! The fermented food produces gases, decays and becomes toxin, and gets absorbed by the intestine, circulates in the blood stream and is carried to the whole body. Hence, toxin is cumulated in other parts of the body, developing into various diseases. Think before you drink any soft drink / colas again.

Have you ever thought what you drink when you drink an aerated drink? You gulp down carbon dioxide, when nobody in the world would advise you to drink CO2. Two months back, there was a competition at Delhi University. "Who could drink the most Coke?" The winner drank 8 bottles and fainted on the spot-too much CO2 in the blood. Thereafter, the principal banned all soft drinks from the college canteen!

Imagine what these drink must be doing to your soft intestines and stomach lining!

That’s all! It has really provided some food for thought. I would request others to share your experiences.

Meanwhile if you are interested to know what the CSE report told, read it here … Pesticides in Colas

Nails : A mirror into your health

Do you know that your nails can tell you a lot about your internal health? Nails are said to be a mirror that reflects our internal health. A healthy blood supply will create a peachy-pink nail bed. If there is a deficiency or physical problem within our bodies, the fingernails can show it. My curiosity on the subject arose from vertical ridges that appear mostly on our toenails. The net has thrown above me many interesting facts hitherto unknown to me. Toenails are very susceptible to fungus attack and so they do not have a peachy-pink nail bed like our finger nails. Reproduced below are two most common sights we observe in our nails ----

Ridges on Nails : Vertical ridges that appear on the nail can indicate disorders as simple as iron deficiency, poor absorption of vitamins and nutrients, overall poor health or they could indicate something as serious as kidney trouble. These vertical ridges, as well as bumpy nails, can also suggest that one is prone to developing arthritis. Ridges running horizontally across the nail can indicate physical or mental stress.

White Spots on Nails : Probably the most common sight on the nails is the "white spot". Although it has been noted that white lines can be symptoms of a serious disorder, their presence is more than likely a result of iron or zinc deficiency.

Before worrying about any severe disease, your first step should be to see your doctor, preferably a dermatologist. If you want to know more, these are very useful links ---

Fingernails and Nutrition

Your nails and your overall health

Welcome to middle age: Have you got your BP, Cholesterol and Sugar checked

I will soon be completing 34 years of mortal existence. At 76 kilos for a height of 5’9”, I am not certainly overweight. Even after 6 years of marital bliss, the tummy bulge is not that prominent. I had always thought that I have got a healthy physique. Even many of my colleagues also felt that way. Do I? Well, it just took 24 hours to have another perspective of life.

Last forthnight, I went to the hospital with the simple objective of getting some antacids for acidity that has been bothering me. The lady doctor advised me to get the BP checked. I could see from her expression that she was a bit surprised at the readings. It was 140 –100. The doctor made several enquiries about my age, family history of diabetes, heart problems, etc. I told her that my family has no history of diabetes, but my father expired at the age of 52 of a heart attack. The doctor suggested me to get an ECG done and also get both sugar and cholesterol checked as I am entering the potentially dangerous late 30s. The ECG was OK, but the results of blood test made many eyes popped out. At 112, Sugar (fasting) has just crossed the normal upper limit of 110. Fortunately, it is not that alarming. People with reading of 125 and above are diagnised for diabetes. But cholesterol had a reading of 298. The doctor said it is high. But when we did some research on the net, we found that a reading upto 200 is normal, upto 250 is borderline high and above 250 is HIGH RISK zone. The ratio of LDL (Bad) Cholesterol to Total Cholesterol should be below 5. But mine was 6.1. Triglyceride reading was 196 as against normal values of 160 The realization dawned on me that I am a sitting duck, waiting for a heart attack to occur. And all these were happening while I was thinking that I am in good health. I had read that built up of high cholesterol in blood do not show any outer signs until it stuck you after few years. The normal age for heart attacks in man is above 40.

Reducing sugar will not be a problem. I just need to cut down the number of sweets I take. But Cholesterol? This situation has obviously not been because of food intake in the last few months or so. But it has been getting built over last few years. So it will take effort for much longer period to bring it down to desired level. I now repent the lazy weekends which I spent by lying on the bed and watching TV. Inactivity is one of the main cause. I have been suggested several ways to bring BP and Cholesterol down – the most common being regular walking and physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day. The other option is to take to Yoga regularly. It is good that these days many Indian TV channels are showing programs by Swami Ramdev. Two of the yoga, viz. anulom-bilom and kapal-bhati, are specially meant for lowering BP and Cholesterol and also sugar. And of course, you need a drastic change in your menu. Well, now I am into all of it. I have no reason for wanting to leave this world early.

My results had made many to get their tests done. I should have got these tests done at least 2 years back. In fact, if you are above 32, you should also get a sugar and lipid profile test done which will give you an idea about how to live in the years to come. If you want to know more about Cholesterol and other blood test results, then you may read on the following links which I found very useful---

www.amarillomed.com

ww.bloodbook.com