Category: General

The Risk of Bad Sleep Habits on Your Health

Humans require sleep just as they require oxygen, water, and food to survive. Adequate hours of sleep are vital for the health. However, the demands of the fast-paced city life make it difficult for many of us to get adequate sleep at night.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that an adult individual should get at least seven hours of sleep every night. Not getting enough sleep at night does not just result in drowsiness and fatigue. Various studies have shown that lack of sleep leads to increased risk of various health disorders.

Sleep Deprivation and Health Risks

Our sleep needs vary as we age. We require fewer hours of sleep as we age. However, the demands of the daily life make it difficult for most people to get the required hours of sleep at night. Sleep deprivation leads to increased risk of various health disorders some of which are briefly discussed below.  

1. Diminished Cognitive Process

Sleep plays an important role in improved cognitive process. Inadequate sleep at night impairs mental processes. This leads to reduced alertness, focus, and decreased problem-solving and reasoning skills. As a result, a person’s productivity is adversely affected while performing tasks during the day. Also, impaired mental functioning increases the risk of accidents when driving or operating heavy machinery.

2. Increased Risk of Health Disorders

Lack of sleep puts a person at increased risk of heart attack, heart failure, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), stroke, and diabetes. Around 90 percent of the people that have been diagnosed with insomnia, or chronic inability to sleep at night, also suffer from one of these health complications.

3. Reduced Libido

Lack of sleep also has been linked to reduced libido in both men and women. Sleep-deprived people show less interest in sex due to sleepiness, stress, and depleted energy. Studies have shown that men with sleeping problems also may have low testosterone levels that lead to reduced interests in sex with the partner.

4. Depression and Anxiety

A survey conducted in 2007 of 10,000 individuals found that sleep-deprived people were five times more likely to develop depression. People with sleep problems are more likely to develop depression and anxiety disorders as compared to those that have adequate hours of sleep at night.

5. Premature Aging

Lack of sleep can also lead to premature aging of the skin. People that do not get adequate sleep at night develop fine lines and dark circles under the eyes. When persons do not get adequate sleep at night, it results in the release of the stress hormones. This hormone contributes to aging of the skin.

In conclusion, you should make sure to get 7 to 9 hours sleep every night. Consider consulting with a general physician for sleep therapies or medications for getting oversleep troubles. However, most of the people would benefit by making slight changes in the daily habits that result in getting adequate hours of sleep during the night.

New York Hospitals Rank Among the Best in The Nation

New York State has always maintained a high rating when it comes to the quality of care and expertise in using the latest, state of the art medical facilities and equipment. New York Hospital. New York Presbyterian Hospital and St. Francis Hospital (the ‘heart hospital’ to name a few.

In continuing coverage of the U.S News & World Report Best Hospitals 2015-16 report, New York Presbyterian Hospital again ranked high, coming in as seventh in the nation and the best in New York City.

New York Presbyterian CEO Dr. Steven Corwin said, “This acknowledgment validates our commitment to delivering world-class, compassionate care to all New Yorkers, by the finest practitioners, in state-of-the-art facilities.” The ranking placed NYU Langone Medical Center second in the area, and twelfth in the nation.

NYE Langone Dean and CEO Robert Grossman said, “We are so proud that the excellent work of our dedicated physicians, researchers and clinical staff at NYU Langone Medical Center has continued to distinguish our hospital as one of New York City’s best.” Other top-rated hospitals in New York were Mount Sinai Hospital, Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco; Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan; and St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn on Long Island.

Crain’s New York Business reported that “New York hospitals once again scored high,” noting particularly the Hospital for Special Surgery’s number one rating for orthopedics, and New York Presbyterian Hospital’s top rating for psychiatry, as well as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s number two ranking for cancer care. It also cited New York-Presbyterian and NYU Langone Medical Center for being on the US News “honor roll” as number seven and number 12 in the US.

Five Valuable Lessons to Learn from Florence Nightingale

If there is a person who could be credited for making nursing a legitimate profession in the healthcare sector, it is Florence Nightingale. The Lady with the Lamp, an advocate of the fundamental healthcare rights of war veterans and wounded soldiers, she was truly a golden ray of light in the war-stricken era of the 19th century. Nightingale embarked upon her nursing career within the Crimean War, tending to the injured soldiers on the battlefield.

In addition to caring for the troops, she also provided designs for better sanitary conditions of the patients in hospitals. In this regard, Nightingale was a remarkable hospital administrator. Even to this day, in the highly evolved healthcare industry, we can trace back many of the medical innovations in hospitals back to Florence Nightingale.

Here are five valuable lessons that we can learn from Florence Nightingale:

Valor and Audacity

Florence Nightingale was born to an aristocratic British family, but her affluence did not come in the way of her work. She was full of valor and quite audacious whenever the situation demanded. She was courageous enough to ask the Queen of England for political backing, or the public for funding, and succeeded in these endeavors. Nightingale really understood the essence of the word privilege – she made use of her advantages to fight for the rights of the deprived.

Logic and Discipline

Florence wasn’t the sort of a person who would make an argument without sufficient facts. One cannot possibly eliminate the role Nightingale played at Scutari, Turkey. In order to make people realize the horrifying conditions of the British army hospitals in the war zone, she charted out death rates and infections amongst the soldiers. Her discipline and logic are notable, for she proved her point with facts. Her revolutionary action plan depicts that common sense and discipline are essential to be effective.

Compassion

She was a compassionate individual – she understood that patient care involves empathizing with them. Her intrinsic compassion wanted her to do something more for her wards at the barrack hospital than just drinking. Therefore, she decided to lay the foundation of a patient library, so that the wounded would be able to occupy themselves with something substantial.  Her compassion and empathy, today, make us realize the importance of truly interacting with the sick for their wellbeing.

Just and Fair

Quite contrary to the radical mindset of Victorian England, Nightingale was a firm believer that to perform triage, medical conditions of the patient held more value than the rank of the militia. Even though her methods are outdated today, her just and fair ways are important lessons that need to be highlighted.

Initiative

Florence Nightingale wasn’t a person who believed in giving up. She took initiatives and was not hindered by obstacles. When she was informed that there was no funding to refurbish a demolished hospital wing, she somehow managed to finance it and hired a Turkish crew to accomplish the task. Today, we can tackle challenging situations if we follow the path of Florence Nightingale and not find excuses for our shortcomings.

Nursing Organizations Push for Legislation to Reauthorize Workforce Programs

Nursing organizations around the country are lending their support for the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act, a bill introduced by Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA) and David Joyce (R-OH). The legislation would reauthorize and update nursing developing programs through 2020.

Deborah E. Trautman, PhD, RN, president and chief executive officer of AACN testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health on the need to reauthorize Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs.

“With over 3 million licensed providers, registered nurses are the largest healthcare workforce in America and essential members of the healthcare team,” Dr Trautman said in her testimony.

Overall, more than 55 professional nursing organizations back the measure. The coalition explained that Title VIII programs have helped meet the United States’ healthcare needs by helping to supply and distribute qualified nurses. Title VIII programs are the largest dedicated source of federal funding for nursing education.

“Our organizations’ members deeply rely on these programs to foster high-quality care delivery in the wide range of settings where they practice, teach, and lead in improving health care,” a written testimony from the 55 organizations read.

Dr Trautman pointed out in her testimony that the legislation being considered would modernize the Title VIII programs, which is necessary to create alignment with the transformations occurring in nursing and healthcare.

“As we continue to ensure that all communities have access to care, it is essential that the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs be reauthorized,” Dr Trautman said. “This will ensure a continued pipeline of support for the providers who spend the most time with patients—nurses.”

Virus or Bacteria? What’s the Difference?

Bacterial cell structure
Bacterial cell structure

Many human illnesses are caused by diseases that are from viruses or bacteria. It is important to know what is making you sick, however, is difficult to tell which is the culprit. Symptoms of both bacterial and viral infections are very similar, yet treatment is different for each.

Viruses

Viruses contain genetic material inside them. They are much smaller than bacteria. Viruses cause diseases such as the common cold, flu and warts. They also cause severe illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, smallpox, measles, and hemorrhagic fevers. Viral infections are difficult to treat because antibiotics which work on bacterial infections do not work on viral infections. The current medicines against future viral infections come in the form of vaccines as well as a few anti viral medications. Rest is very important when sick with a virus.

A common symptom of a viral disease that is not seen in bacterial disease is clear and/ or cloudy mucous, as well as wide-spread symptoms. Viral illnesses also last from 2-10 days and sometimes but not always produce a fever.

Bacteria

Bacteria are one-celled organisms that multiply by simple division. They cause respiratory infections, tonsillitis, pneumonia, bronchitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, and whooping cough.

A common symptom of a bacterial disease that is not seen in viral disease is colored phlegm. Symptoms are usually in one specific area such as the sinuses, throat, or chest. Bacterial illnesses also last 10 days or more and are notorious for producing a fever. Luckily, most bacterial infections can be cured with a full course of antibiotics.

Knowing the difference between a viral and bacterial illness may save you time and money. Remember, a cold and cough is usually always viral, while something localized such as an ear infection is usually always bacterial and can be treated with antibiotics. Only your doctor will be able to confirm what is making you sick and follow up with proper medication.

 

Acknowledging the Tireless Work of Physicians

Every day of the year, physicians in the US work tirelessly to care for patients, and one day a year. The country recognizes the work of its doctors with National Doctors’ Day every March 30th.

The day has a long history, dating back to 1933, and was officially turned into a national holiday in 1990. And physicians need our acknowledgement perhaps more now than ever. Research has shown that physicians are facing an epidemic of burnout.

Physicians suffer burnout more than any other American worker, according to a 2012 report by the Annals of Internal Medicine. And in 2015, Medscape found that nearly half (46%) of all physicians had burnout, which was up significantly from 2013 when less than 40% responded similarly.

Physician burnout can have far reaching effects. According to a commentary published in the September/October 2015 issue of Family Practice Management, burnout is directly linked to some undesirable consequences:

  • Lower patient satisfaction and care quality
  • Higher medical error rates and malpractice risk
  • Higher physician and staff turnover
  • Physician alcohol and drug abuse and addiction
  • Physician suicide

“For all of us who take care of patients in the course of our workday, we have been trained and conditioned by our educational process to continue to work despite the fact that our batteries are completely empty,” Dike Drummond, MD, explained.

Burnout rates vary by specialty, but those on the front line of care—primary care physicians and emergency physicians—have the highest reported burnout rates.

As for physician suicide, nearly 400 physicians take their lives each year. Not only is this likely an underestimate, but that makes it the highest suicide rate of any profession, The Advisory Board Company reported in 2014.

So this March 30, take the time to thank your doctor, and acknowledge him or her for all the hard work and countless hours they put in to keep their patients healthy and treat them when they fall sick.

Suggested Medical Tests That Everyone Should Take

Blood Pressure CheckupHe who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything – Arabian proverb

We spend a good part of our life worrying about money, relations, and just getting by. In all this chaos, we sometimes end up ignoring the most important thing in our life, something that could never return once it is gone; that is health.  

While no one is safe from diseases, it is still always better when it is diagnosed in its earliest stages. Nowadays, people don’t learn about their disease until it has done considerable damage. Early diagnosis always increases the chance of survival, especially from a chronic disease. This is why every single person, young or old, should get regular checkups.

While there are many medical tests that one should get done each year, we will mention a few below:

Blood Pressure:

Most people think of abnormal blood pressure levels as being an unimportant and harmless issue, which is their second gravest mistake. The first mistake is when they don’t deem it important enough to get it checked. Getting your blood pressure checked takes hardly a few minutes and it can be kept in control by proper medications and a healthy lifestyle. If irregular blood pressure is not diagnosed and treated, it can lead to various other dangerous diseases, with heart failure being one of them.

Skin Examination:

A complete skin examination should also be on the list. At times, skin problems are an indication of a disease that has more to do with other parts of your body rather than the skin itself. Then again, skin cancer is also becoming common with each passing day and the sooner it is diagnosed, the better.

Colonoscopy:

Colonoscopy is a procedure in which a medical expert uses a long, flexible, narrow tube with a light and tiny camera on one end to look inside the rectum and colon. Colonoscopy can show irritated and swollen tissue, ulcers, polyps, which are significant if found, as they could indicate the possibility of colon cancer. Early screening is essential and if polyps are found, they can be removed before cancer spreads.

Eye Checkup:

Photo of a woman's eye
Wikipedia

We complain about a headache all the time. However, what we don’t know is that more often than not, it is due to our weakening eyesight.

Spotting sight issues in kids are very difficult as they are never able to tell the difference until they reach their school age. It is up to the parents to remain observant in this regard. If weak eyesight is not picked up early, it keeps deteriorating. Many adults also discover common eye diseases, such as cataracts, when it is too late.

Kidneys:

Kidney diseases range from mild to chronic. If you did happen to suffer from it, you can still lead a normal life if the disease gets diagnosed early. The longer the diagnosis takes, the more dangerous it can become and affect your health. Kidney infections also affect other parts of our body, making it difficult to perform day-to-day work.

Cholesterol:

High cholesterol can be prevented by a few, simple medications and a preventive diet. If remained unchecked and ignored for a longer time, it can clog your arteries and cause several other non-pleasant and chronic diseases.

Our life is already too short and limited to spend it in illness. We are here for a reason other than to get sick. So, make sure you take the utmost care of your health and your loved ones to live a long and happy life.

Unusual Diseases You Might Not Know About

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a disease is “an illness that affects a person, animal, or plant : a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally”.

Most people are familiar with diseases such as cancer, diabetes and parkinson’s, there are numerous illnesses that many have not heard of.

Erotomania

No doubt all of us have gone through a feeling when we think that the other person loves us madly the way we do but it isn’t so. When it comes to Erotomania, it is something different. This disease takes infatuation entirely to a next level.

This type of disease makes an individual think that a high profile person such as a celebrity is madly in love with them and pulling out all stops to make contact with them. The scariest part of this disease is that the patient’s feeling can be very overwhelming. This delusion is really difficult to break as the person remains unconvinced, no matter how hard you try to convince them.  

Erotomania is different from the illness attributed to John Hinckley, the shooter of Ronald Reagan. In this case, this person was obsessed with actress Jodi Foster, but had no illusion that she was not obsessed with him. According to psychiatrists, Hinckley was suffering from narcissistic and schizoid personality disorders.

Walking Corpse Syndrome

Do not misunderstand this type of disease with its colloquial terms. It is not a disorder where dead people rise and walk all along. It is a belief by an individual that they are dead and do not exist in the world any more. This type of feeling usually occurs when one is extremely depressed or has gone in a shocked state because of a tragic incident.

Also, this can happen due to drug psychosis. Often this illness is misunderstood by Capgras Syndrome, where individuals believe that someone else has replaced their life as a duplicate. Walking corpse syndrome is a mental disorder that does not let a person recognize themselves. Hence individuals affected with this disease convince themselves that they are dead.

Pica

Pica is a kind of disorder in which people are forced to eat things that do not have any food substances such as paint or wood, or any nutritional value. This disease has further four types, including Geophagy, eating soil, dirt and clay, Trichophagia, consuming hair and wool, Coprophagy, consuming feces, Hyalophagia, eating glass, and Urophagia, consuming urine. This type of disease can be very dangerous to health as an individual consumes elements that must not be consumed by hum

Overview of Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic Kidney Disease is one of the most common and widespread diseases in the world. In the US, it affects over 25 million adults, while many more are at risk of developing CKD because of family history or having faced other kidney problems. Chronic diseases refer to those which develop over a longer period of time and it is only when significant damage has been done that they start to show symptoms. CKD is no different.

Before going into the causes and symptoms of this disease, let’s first look into how our kidneys function so we better understand the science behind the disease as well.

kidney anatomy

Function of the kidneys

Kidneys are one of the vital organs of the body and are located right beneath the ribcage, towards the back. They are connected with the bladder by way of thin tubes called ‘ureters’. The main role that our kidneys play in the body is that of cleaning the blood. They filter the blood by removing waste products and excess fluids, sending them out of the body through urine. It is the ureters that take the waste products from the kidneys to the bladder and subsequently, out of the body. The kidneys perform this function because of millions of nephrons, which are the kidneys’ very own filters.

Dysfunction in the kidneys and their filtering centers (the nephrons) increases the amount of waste products in the blood because they are not being filtered and excreted at the same optimal rate that a healthy kidney should do.

Causes and symptoms of CKD

The main causes of chronic kidney disease are hypertension and diabetes. In diabetes, the blood sugar level goes beyond the safe limit putting vital organs at risk, kidneys being one of them. In hypertension, the blood pressure against the blood vessel walls increases considerably. Kidney failure is one of the leading outcomes of hypertension, in addition to heart attacks and strokes. Both hypertension and diabetes, leading to chronic kidney disease, point towards unhealthy lifestyle manifested in poor eating habits mainly. But it is not the only cause in all the cases. Often, factors like family history and some birth defects such as solitary kidney also lead to slow progression of kidney disease.

Some of the common and apparent symptoms of chronic kidney disease include persistent tiredness, significantly weakened eyesight, loss of appetite, swelling in feet and ankles mainly, trouble in sleeping, and notable increase in the number of times you need to urinate in a day. High blood pressure as a cause of kidney disease often results in internal bleeding in the eyes as well. If unchecked for dangerously long time, it can result in brain damage as well.

Treatment methods

CKD, in most of the cases, ends up in chronic kidney/renal failure. Although the ultimate solution is kidney transplant, there are various reasons why it cannot be done immediately. The short term solution is putting the patient on dialysis, which performs the function of the kidneys; cleansing the blood. Depending on the condition of the patient, its frequency can be anywhere between once and thrice a week.

If there is any other disease or infection in the body, it is difficult to conduct transplant because the donor kidney has chances of being rejected by the body. In order for the kidney to be accepted in the body, immune system has to be suppressed, which is not possible in the presence of an infection. It is only when the body has been cleared of all kinds of infections and other deficiencies that immune system can be suppressed by means of immunosuppressant medicines and the foreign kidney be accepted by the body’s own defense mechanism.

 

Huntington’s Disease

Huntington’s disease is inherited in nature and it causes the brain cells to degenerate. It adversely affects one’s ability to function and leads to a number of disorders. The impairment may be psychological, physical, or cognitive. Unfortunately, it is fatal and no treatment has been developed yet to cure this disease.

According to Huntington’s Disease Society of America, there are about thirty thousand symptomatic patients of Huntington’s disease and more than 200,000 are at the risk of inheriting it. It has also been described as having Alzheimer’s, ALS, and Parkinson disease – all at the same time. The symptoms of Huntington’s disease usually surface in the 30s or 40s, but the onset of the disease can be much later or earlier in life. This means that one can be diagnosed with Huntington’s even in their 20s and before, or 50s and later, all depending upon the patient’s genetic makeup. In case of the onset of the disease in the teenage years, the symptoms can be different and the disease can progress much faster.

Symptoms

The symptoms progress over a period of ten to fifteen years, and eventually, the patient loses the battle with heart failure, pneumonia, or some other fatal complexity. Huntington’s is caused due to the genetic makeup of an individual, that is why that despite everyone having Huntington’s gene, only some have its expansion gene which causes the gene to develop. The chance of a Huntington’s patient’s child to inherit and develop the disease is positively present by 50%.

Symptoms include:

  • Changes in personality
  • Changes in mood
  • Feeling depressed
  • Weak memory
  • Difficult to maintain balance while walking and jerking of limbs
  • Difficulty in speaking, swallowing
  • Loss of weight
  • Disturbed sleep pattern
  • Geocentrism
  • Anxiety
  • Compulsive behavior

Testing

For an adult, having tested for Huntington’s is a personal choice. Many people feel reluctant to get tested as they see no point in knowing what kind of future lies ahead of them if they do have an active Huntington’s gene. Others do want to know so that they can make plans for future accordingly; plans concerned with family in particular.

People under 18 years are recommended not to be tested as they cannot entirely comprehend the consequences and conditions of this disease. Though, in case of Juvenile Huntington’s Disease, tests can be conducted after extensive neurological examination has been done. Prenatal tests can also be done to see if the expected child has the Huntington’s gene and the one that can activate its development.

The diagnosis can be done clinically, through predictive genetic testing, Preimplantation genetic diagnosis, prenatal testing, and differential diagnosis.

Though there is no clue to Huntington’s disease as of yet, but it can be managed with medicines and physical therapy. Educating people about the disease and its development can also help them prevent through family planning, care management and genetic testing. The advancements in genetic research and genetic engineering can hold answers to the questions regarding this disease that still remain a myth.

Donations can be made to the Huntington Disease Society of America.