Health Wikipedia

Everyday, thousands of people undergoing major surgeries need blood transfusion. Many people suffering from various conditions like haemophilia (genetic disease that impair the body’s ability to control blood clotting), dengue, severe anaemia, blood cancer, thalaessemia need blood transfusion.

On an average, 3 to 3.5 lakh bags of blood are needed in our country every year. There is always strict advice to transfuse safe blood. But from where these amount of blood will come? Blood is not produced in a factory and yet there is no alternative source for blood. The only source of blood is human body.

Usually, blood from relative is encouraged for transfusion. But if a healthy relative of the same blood group is not available, blood from any healthy voluntary donor of that group may be transfused. In our country, people usually depend on the organisations like Sandhani, Redcresent, Badhon, Quantam etc. for safe and fresh blood. We should remember that these organisations or institutions do not manufacture blood. They are only the media to collect blood from healthy voluntary donors to provide it to the needy people. The more the voluntary donor, the more these organisations will make blood available.

Here the question comes — who can donate blood? Any person within the age group of 18-60 years with a body weight as minimum 45 kg for female and 48 kg for male and having a general well-health is an eligible blood donor. Healthy means that you feel well and can perform normal activities; your blood pressure, pulse, body temperature are normal; and you are free from any blood boarn diseases such as malaria, syphilis, gonorrhoea, hepatitis B, C, AIDS, haemophilia etc.

You may have chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure; but in these cases, healthy means — you are being treated and the condition is under control. Such healthy people can donate one bag (350-450 ml) blood safely every 4 months.

After donating blood, the donor should take rest for 15-20 minutes. Routine work is absolutely fine after the initial rest. Rigorous physical work should be avoided for few hours. After resting for a while a donor should be given some liquid (fluid) to drink, such as water, ORS, milk or fruit juice. The donor needs no special diet other than a routine balanced diet. The body replaces blood volume or plasma within 24 hours.

It is very unfortunate that voluntary blood donation is still not so popular in our country. This is due to the lack of proper awareness, social movement, irrational fear and superstitions about donating blood. Some organisations are working in this field but still the number of voluntary blood donor is not keeping pace with the yearly requirement of blood.

In a study conducted by Sandhani, Dhaka Medical College Unit, it was seen that 62 percent of the population were unaware of the blood-transmitted diseases, 53 percent of people did not even know what their blood group was; 66 percent admitted that their knowledge about blood donation was not sufficient.

For the lack of adequate voluntary donors, many patients are being compelled to buy blood from professional blood donors. Such donors are more likely to carry dangerous infections and their blood is more likely to be of lower standard, as they tend to donate, better to say, trade more frequently.

In Bangladesh, mostly drug addicts sell their blood to get money to buy drugs for addiction. Usually they are under-nourished, having less haemoglobin in their blood. They also suffer from various blood transmissible diseases. So, the patient who is getting that blood, though initially may be benefited, is in risk of having many diseases.

In a research conducted in our country, 22 percent of the professional donor was found having Syphilis and 29 percent having Hepatitis-B. A study conducted in BSMMU showed that 60.1 percent of the patients suffered from hepatitis, who got transmitted unscreened blood from professional donors.

Again, many patients fail to get any kind of blood, not from voluntary donors, not from professional donors even. Voluntary donors’ safe blood and professionals’ unsafe blood collectively fail to fulfill the yearly requirements of Bangladesh.

If only 1% of the population donate blood once a year (though a healthy donor can donate blood 3 times a year safely), the yearly collection stands a satisfactory number which may fulfil the requirement smoothly.

Mathematically it is an easy task but it does not happen in reality. We all need come forward to save thousands of lives dying due to the shortage of blood.

With the advent of Valentine’s Day on this Sunday, millions of people are planning to give special gifts to their beloved. People sent flowers, red hearts, anonymous cards and offer a candle-lit dinner to surprise their valentines. On this Valentine’s day, you can make an exception by giving the greatest gift — a healthy heart that lasts forever. With little changes in your lifestyle that keep your heart healthy you can offer the big gift.

Research has shown that the leading cause of heart disease is related to behavioural choices such as eating habits, exercise, tobacco use, alcohol consumption and stress.

Maintaining a healthy body weight is crucial for the prevention of coronary heart diseases. Physical exercise even walking is good for heart. Blood pressure should be checked at regular interval and focus on lowering pressure by decreasing salt and low calorie diet. Alcohol, tobacco products and secondary exposure to tobacco smoke are important driving force behind heart diseases. We should make pledge to avoid it on this very occasion.

Following a heart healthy diet rich in vegetables, fruits and whole-grains are equally important. Consume fish, especially oily fish, at least twice a week. Limit your intake of saturated fat and minimise your intake of beverages and foods with added sugars.

On this Valentine’s Day, you can make the outstanding decision to change your lifestyle to give your beloved one, a healthy heart that creates love for life time.

The recent outbreak of H1N1 influenza epidemic which is better familiar as swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that causes regular outbreaks in pigs.

The human outbreak has created panic in the people due to some fatality. People are in a fix due to some reasons which include the disease is relatively new, healthcare setup is not completely equipped with adequate resources, medical professionals are not quite skilled handling the disease and so on.

When there was first outbreak of dengue haemorrhagic in Bangladesh, people were so worried similarly. But it is no longer a disease of panic.

To deal with the H1N1 influenza, we need keeping in mind several things. The best way to keep from spreading the virus through coughing or sneezing is to limit contact with other people as much as possible. Sick people should avoid work place and children should not go to schools. Concerned authority should be reluctant in this regard.

When coughing or sneezing, mouth and nose should be covered with tissue which should be discard immediately. If tissue is not available, hands are enough which must be washed afterwards. There is serious bad habit spitting and not covering mouth or nose while coughing or sneezing. Use of civic sense and simple courtesy can contribute a great deal here.

Most of the cases are self limiting and personal hygiene is of great value.

People with H1N1 influenza are potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic with a ceiling of up to seven days following illness onset. Kids, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

There is a dilemma about using the masks. Usually three types of masks are used — facemask, surgical mask and N95 mask. The N95 mask is effective in protection of H1N1 virus whereas surgical and facemask have almost no contribution for protection. But wearing facemask or surgical mask is of no harm. At least it protects others from spreading the disease. Sometimes, experts opt for double layered mask for resource poor settings.

Since the virus easily spread in crowded places, children are recommended to abstain from their schools where large outbreak occurs. Otherwise, only sick children are recommended to stay home to avoid spreading illness. Children also should not be brought to crowded places unnecessarily like shopping complexes, cinema halls etc.

Treatment is available in Bangladesh now and soon medical professionals will be used to hand H1N1 cases. Suspected cases should stay home and take home management. In case of developing warning signs or complications, individuals should seek emergency medical care in hospitals.

Antiviral drugs (Oseltamivir), which are available in the market can be stored at home for safety purpose, but it should not be readily taken without any clinical judgement or without prescription of physician, as it may develop resistance.

Fatality occurs due to misdiagnosis of the disease and accompanying other serious/chronic medical conditions — not as the disease is virulent too much. Early intervention with medication can cure the disease as usually.

The novel H1N1 influenza A virus spreads four times faster than other viruses and creates much panic all over the world. The rising number of cases every day and increase in death rate in some countries made it a serious concern. But experts in influenza and infectious disease are still saying the exact level of danger from the virus is still far from certain.

In most cases, the disease manifestation is just regular influenza. It is something that happens every year. It is self limiting and most people recover soon without any medication. H1N1 is a major concern for people with chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer and also for children and extreme aged.

The scientists who study outbreaks say that A(H1N1) is not the deadliest strain out there. The case-fatality (the percentage of people who got the disease and did not survive) is still very low. While case fatality for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) reached more than 15 percent, bird flu reached higher to 60 percent, but it is only about 1 percent worldwide with a maximum fatality in Mexico is about 10 percent.

Moreover, we have drugs (Oseltamivir and Zanamivir) in our hand now to fight in the initial phase that we did not have in the previous large flu outbreaks.

Although there are positive reasons not to panic, we should be concern deeply with the risk and potential danger of H1N1 that may occur in near future. If we track back to Spanish influenza, we see that it began as a mild strain, and then turned horrifically virulent, killing 20 million to 100 million people in 1918-19.

The risk could be reduced or eliminated by exercising personal control like hygiene practice. It is worth remembering that worry itself is a risk, a stress that can undermine health and happiness. We need not to be panicked but always have to take these things seriously.

Swine flu, also called hog flu/pig flu is the scary names now a days. The recent outbreaks of swine flu or swine influenza A (H1N1) virus has created much panic in Bangladesh. It is heartrending but we have to be alert to contain the spread of the virus.

Simple influenza-like illness (fever, cough, sore throat) has been reported in many cases, mild respiratory illness (nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, shortness of breath) without fever and occasional severe disease also has been reported. Other symptoms reported with swine influenza A virus infection include vomiting, diarrhoea, myalgia (muscle ache), headache, chills, fatigue and shortness of breath. Conjunctivitis is rare, but has been reported. Severe disease (pneumonia, respiratory failure) and fatal outcomes have been reported with swine influenza A virus infection.

The potential for exacerbation of underlying chronic medical conditions or invasive bacterial infection with swine flu virus should be considered. To confirm a positive case, a simple throat or nasal swab is examined in laboratory. Follow the dos and don’ts to reduce the risk of catching or spreading.

* Stay home and limit contact with others as much as possible
* Cover your cough/ sneeze
* Rest and eat nutritious food and take plenty of liquids
* Get plenty of sleep and rest
* Seek medical advice if you have the symptoms
* It is better to cover mouth and nose. When coughing and sneezing, using a tissue and do not forget to throw the tissue away quickly and carefull

* Wash your hands regularly with soap and water
* Hands/Fingers are very important — even some people prefer to use gloves and stop doing hand shakes
* Clean hard surfaces (like door handles and remote controls) frequently with a normal cleaning product

Don’t forget to use tissue paper when sneezing and coughing and wash your hands regularly. Do not forget to carry tissue paper; catching the germs in a tissue paper could help limit the spread of the virus.

If you do have swine flu, you should contact a qualified doctor who is aware of its management rather than visiting a practitioner and ignorant about this disease. Recently several medical college hospitals in Bangladesh has opened special ward to treat swine flu cases.

Swine flu can be treated by the drugs — Oseltamivir and Zanamivir, according to WHO guideline. In some cases, antiviral medicine may cause side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach ache, headache. Even if you do feel these symptoms it is important that those prescribed antiviral medicine complete the course, even if symptoms of swine flu clear and you start to feel better quickly.

Like Islam, many of the world’s religions and spiritual practices include element of fasting as a way to boost their spiritual development. Alongside with the spiritual significance, fasting has certain physical, psychological and social benefits. By maintaining proper norms of Ramadan, we can get these benefits and move a significant step towards better health.

Increasingly, scientists are starting to recognise the benefits of fasting that reduces energy intake. Research on animals shows a restricted-calorie diet increases life span. There seem to be two mechanisms by which it amplifies life span.

First, it reduces free radical production, or the production of highly toxic forms of oxygen that damages cell and the second is that calorie restriction increases the resistance of cells to stress. Both of these are important in protecting against a number of different diseases that have a negative impact on life span. It helps in reducing cholesterol levels and improves blood glucose levels and provides protection of certain emerging diseases like cardiovascular problems, diabetes, cancer etc.

Research by Zafar Nomani, Professor Emeritus of Human Nutrition and Foods, West Virginia University has shown that the basal metabolism of fasting individuals slows down during Ramadan. A person can stay healthy and active during Ramadan consuming a diet that is less than that of the normal intake but balanced in nutrients.

Some studies suggest that many people are consuming too many calories that are not nutritious and not consuming enough of the right kinds of calories. Cutting calories excessively and not paying attention to the quality of food may result in severe health consequences. This practice can affect our immune system, concentration and ability to focus.

Some people overeat during Ramadan and especially bulge their bellies with fried and fatty food. Studies indicate that health problems can emerge as a result of eating too much or eating a diet that is not balanced. The body has regulatory mechanisms that activate during fasting and we do not need to overeat to get the essential nutrients.

Changing the food habit is particularly important in Ramadan to get health benefits. Slow-digesting foods that contain grains and seeds like wheat, oats, beans, lentils and unpolished rice. These foods can last for up to eight hours, making them more suitable for fasting.

Dates and juices are good sources of sugars that can bring low blood glucose level to normal level rapidly. Indeed, breaking the fast with several dates is considered “sunnah” in Islam that was practiced by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Muslims are advised to refrain from not only food and water, but also from other bad habits like smoking, foul talk and harm to others. The restrictions — both caloric and behavioral — can be good for us holistically for sustaining good practice in time after Ramadan.