Nowadays epidemics are spreading very easily. By having a little more care we can prevent our family from these diseases. • Hygiene is the basic step of prevention. Members in a family should be careful about their individual hygiene. • If you are coming from outside after shopping, office etc, just go to bathroom and wash your hands and legs using soap. Otherwise take a quick bath before eating and mingling with others. Take bath twice in a day. • Don't forget to keep your shoes outside the house. • Always be careful in the case of drinking water. Drink boiled water only. It is better to use a water purifier if you are using tape water. • Don’t leave food items unclosed. • If any of your friends or relatives having any types of epidemics, try not to mingle with them. • If any of your family member has flue, cold etc, consult the doctor soon. Others should try to stop spreading it. Don’t share patient’s plate, towel etc with other members. Like individual hygiene, cleanliness of your house is also important. • Clean the toilet and kitchen daily. • You have to keep your rooms and furniture dust free. Presence of dust may cause allergy diseases. • It is our duty to keep our area around the house keep clean. Don’t throw the waste particles, remaining food items and other clutter out. These can be disposed in a trash and it should be emptied daily. Thus you can avoid the presence of insects. • Mosquitoes are the big headache now. Prevent dirty water from being collected near the house. Keep your surroundings dry. • Don't forget to clean your refrigerator regularly. Author: Nayana Valsaraj (Kannur, Kerala) … [Read more...]
Oral diseases due to Tobacco chewing or Smoking
The word “tobacco” was originally used a “y” shaped piece of cone or pipe called Tobago. That was used by Mexican Indians, to inhale powdered leaves of a plant. Later, the plant came to the known as tobacco. The generic name of the tobacco plant, Nicotiana is derived from the name of the French Ambassador to Portugal, Jean Nicot. Harmful Substances in Tobacco: Tobacco is addictive and is harmful to health in many ways. It contains an alkaloid, Nicotine, Which is the main addictive agent. Tobacco also contains thousands of chemical compounds which are not only irritants, toxins, but also carcinogens. The most dangerous carcinogens in tobacco: 1. The tobacco specific nitrosamines 2. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and many others. Smoking habits: Tobacco is used in the form of 1. Cigarettes 2. Cigars 3. Bidis 4. Cheroot 5. Hookah 6. Dhumti 7. Pan with tobacco 8. Ghutka (tobacco-lime preparations) 9. Mawa Lesions or Diseases due to Tobacco chewing or Smoking: 1. Leukoderma: it is a chronic mucosal condition in which oral mucosa appears as a grayish white opaque appearance. It is common among the cigarette’s and bidi’s smokers. It is rarely become cancer. 2. Smoker’s palate: The palatal mucosa appears diffused, thick, grayish white with many excrescences having central red dots corresponding to salivary grand duct openings. Here the palatal mucosa appears as red erythematous lesion involving the hard palate and also some times the soft palate. It also shows papillary hyperplasia which consists of red, ovoid, smooth, nodules, of 2-3 mm in size. The lesions may likely undergo to precancerous condition. 3. Leukoplakia: it is the most common precancerous lesion. The term Leukoplakia means a white patch in the mouth. It is caused by tobacco (main), alcohol, certain virus, and chronic irritation from sharp tooth etc. 4. Oral Sub mucous Fibrosis: It is caused by chilly consumption, areca nut chewing, autoimmunity and also tobacco. It is characterized by mucosal rigidity of varying intensity due to fibroblastic transformation of the Juxta-epithelial connective tissue layer. Signs and Symptoms: 1. There is burning sensation in the mouth after taking spicy foods. 2. When tongue is affected, it is devoid of papillae and appears smooth and glossy and its movement is restricted. 3. There is progressive closure of mouth opening (Trismus). 4. Hyper pigmentation or loss of pigmentation of oral mucosa is common. 5. There is presence of palpable fibrous bands in the Buccal mucosa, retro-molar areas and around the mouth opening. 5 .Oral cancer: Any malignancy that arises from the oral tissues is called oral cancer. Spuamous cell carcinoma is most common type. Globally oral cancer is one of the 10 most common cancers. It is more … [Read more...]
