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Health Guide
Compiled by Shanika Sriyananda

Leprosy: no more a God's curse

by Shanika Sriyananda

It was the sudden evil symptoms - deformities, blisters on the body, gradually fingers and toes, falling off, that caged them in secret confines. Losing the previledges of enjoying their lives and in fear of coming forward with disfigured bodies, they spent their lives in the dark. No force on the earth was able to tear down the social stigma on one of the deadliest diseases spread several decades ago.

Due to poor awareness on treatment facilities, those patients infected with this evil disease - leprosy- were stigmatised. Lived in an utter misery they think the symptoms were due to the curse of God.

In 1991, this sad story of unfortunate patients turned into a success story with the commencement of worldwide awareness campaigns and targets set to eliminate leprosy by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The high literacy rate in Sri Lanka led the country to bring down the number of leprosy patients less than the WHO target, which defined the prevalence rate less than one case per 10,000 persons.

Topping the other South Asian countries, Sri Lanka met the target in 1995.

" The stigma related to leprosy has now come down to greater extent. With great awareness, now people know that there is a cure for this disease and the availability of treatment", Dr. Sunil Settinayake, Director, Leprosy Control Unit says.

No patient is hospitalised and will be sent home after necessary drugs were prescribed.

According to Dr. Settinayake, the deep-rooted stigma, which obstructed patients coming for treatment earlier, is now fading and the disease could be compared to a simple 'cold and cough'. " People are now aware of the nature of the disease and come for treatment during primary stages", he adds.

Caused a bacillus, mycobacterium leprae, the incubation period of the disease is five years. It will take 20 years for symptoms to appear and leprosy is not a highly infectious disease. Leprosy mainly affects the skin and nerves but if not treated there will be permanent damages to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes.

Out of over 131 countries, 122 nations have been able to eliminate leprosy but in some countries mainly with low literacy rates it is still a main public health problem due to the social stigma. Dr. Settinayake says that the social marketing campaign together with media publicity about the disease in 1998 had helped to reduce the spreading of the disease and the handling of treatment in the Central Leprosy Control Unit had been disbanded.

The general health care workers of the hospitals are now handling leprosy treatment.

However, with less number of leprosy patients reporting to hospitals, only 20 per cent clinics are functioning today. But, when there is a sudden increase in leprosy cases, the hospital staffers in the particular area will be trained to handle treatment. "The general health staff can treat the patients as the procedure is very simple. If there are complications the patient will be directed to a dermatologist", Dr. Settinayake said.

According to him, many people misunderstand a normal lesion with a leprosy patch.

" It is simple. You can feel the difference by using a safety pin. If the patch is numbness it may be due to leprosy. Self examination is very easy and simple", he says adding still some people have ulcers and deformity as symptoms of leprosy.

Symptoms for early identification of leprosy:

Patches with anesthesia

Thickening of the skin on any part of the body.

Numbness (rare symptom)

Ulcers and blisters. (When neglected only.) People will get ulcers due to low sensation and this may lead to wounds on legs. Some who have ulcers for years, it may be due to leprosy.

But this condition is very rare.

How to think your pain away

People in chronic pain can "think away" their suffering by learning to manipulate the activity of the brain, according to research. Scientists in the United States have successfully taught eight patients to reduce pain from injuries by showing them live scans of their brains while they performed a set of mental exercises.

The findings, from a team at Stanford University in California, have opened up the possibilities for treating chronic pain, which often responds poorly to standard therapy and leaves patients suffering throughout their entire lives.

The study suggests that it may be possible to train people to change the way in which the pain centres of the brain process painful stimuli, making the perception of pain less intense. Sean Mackey, who led the research, said: "Pain has a huge impact on individual patients, their families and society.

We could change people's lives. However, significantly more science and testing must be done before this can be considered a treatment for chronic pain." Dr Mackey's team used a new scanning technique, known as real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging, to capture live images of activity in a part of the brain called the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, that handles painful stimuli.

As the patients watched the scans, they undertook mental exercises designed to alter brain activity and reduce pain. The goal was to train the brain to process pain in a different way, so that the patients would experience it less severely.

The scans allowed the subjects to see what effect their thoughts were having on a small region of the brain, helping them to concentrate on changing its activity. "We asked them to think about changing the meaning of the pain," Dr Mackey said. "Instead of thinking of it as a terrible experience, to think of it as something relatively pleasant." Over time, subjects showed an increased ability to modulate their pain.

Dr Mackey said that it was still unclear how the patients had achieved this, but that it had worked for all eight subjects, with five reporting that their pain had reduced in intensity by 50 per cent or more.

"We really don't know how anyone controls their brain to perform an action," Dr Mackey said. Laura Tibbitt, 31, who has suffered from back pain since a riding accident seven years ago, said that her symptoms had reduced considerably since she took part in the study. "I'd think of little people on my back digging out the pain, or I'd think of snowflakes," she said. "The goal was to exercise your brain, to retrain your brain. Sometimes I felt like I had made a change in my brain.

"The pain was never completely gone, but it was better." The research is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study involved a series of controls to check that the imaging process was having a direct impact on the patients' pain, and that their improved perception was not the result of a placebo effect. "One of the questions that always comes up is, 'Did we just design the world's most expensive placebo?'," Dr Mackey said. In one control group, volunteers were asked to try to control pain without being scanned, and in another they were scanned but not shown the images.

A third group was shown images of a part of the brain that does not process pain, while a fourth was shown images of another person's brain. None of the control groups showed an improvement in pain symptoms, while all the patients in the study group had benefits.

To fight off stress, just relax!

Stress, in this modern era, might be the major root cause for many ailments.

This is a reaction due to the pressure from the busy day-to-day schedules.

Tension, irritability, inability to concentrate and other physical symptoms like headache and a faster heartbeat are the common noted stress reactions.

It can affect or alter both mental and the physical symptoms and these symptoms differ from person to person.

Just watch out ... if you have dry mouth, a pounding heart, difficulty in breathing, stomach upset, frequent urination, sweating palms and tight muscles, you may be a victim of stress.

Over loaded with work at home and at the work place, you certainly need a break. You need to enjoy a calm and quiet environment to have peace of mind.

Then try out the following relaxation routine just for five minutes if you are overstressed.

Remember, before you start, pick the cue find words such as 'calm' or 'let go'.

Then ...

1. Concentrate using your cue words. Tune into your breathing and take in one deep breath and hold it.

2. While holding your breath, tense up a group of muscles, such as those in your face, legs or arms.

3. As you breath out, relax the tensed muscles and let go.

Drop your shoulders and feel all your tension slip away.

Holistic healing :

Herbal care for asthma -1

by Dr. Danister L. Perera

Using herbal medicine in the treatment process of asthma, it is important to follow wholesome dietary regime. In the case of dry type asthma - one should increase the fluid intake. This will help to increase moisture and oxygen in the body.

One should also keep the head, chest and back covered on cool days and avoid exposure to wind. Massage the body daily with sesame oil to add moisture to the body and try to eat foods that are moist and warm rather than raw, cold and rough dry foods.

Avoid dairy products and nuts. For the infection type asthma- one should drink plenty of water and avoid eating after 10:00 pm. Eating late in the night can cause the accumulation of toxins in the body due to improper digestion. One should also avoid deep fried foods, exertion in the cold or heat and should try to eat more fruits and vegetables rather than meats and dairy.

If a person is prone to infection type asthma he or she should try to ingest more turmeric, dry ginger in the form of tea and coriander to prevent infections and boost the immune system.

Mediation and breathing exercises are also helpful for such people as their asthma is usually related to stress and anger.

For congestive type asthma - one should avoid dairy, wheat products, refined sugar and excess sweet, sour and salty foods. They should try to eat bitter, astringent and spicy foods to increase circulation and help flow of mucus and also to prevent congestion.

They can massage the chest and back with mustard oil to promote circulation in the chest.

Balm of camphor is very effective when rubbed on the chest. It can prevent a chest cold from turning into pneumonia and can dilate the bronchial tubes to ease deep breathing. People who are prone to this type of asthma should exercises daily and try to do some cardio exercise for fifteen minutes a day.

They should also avoid eating before 10:00 am and after 9:00 pm to ensure that they do not suffer from weak digestion which is the prime cause of asthma for them.

They should keep the head and torso covered on cool days and avoid walking in the rain. It is important for them to drink hot water or luke warm water rather than cold water and they should avoid cool beverages, ice cream and other cold foods to prevent mucus from becoming clogged.

Ayurvedic herbal combinations thoroughly clean and strengthen the respiratory system.

It prevents the occurrence of hyper sensitivity reaction. Further it permanently changes the composition of the person and his entire respiratory system, builds up strong immunity to allergy, effecting a near complete cure to asthmatic ailments and asthmatic wounds, edema (collection of fluids (i.e.) mucous in lungs), Eosinophilia breathing disorders, sinusitis, rhinitis, persisting cold and more importantly, preventing further occurrence of symptoms.

The main aim of this herbal formulation is to change the composition of the person and build up strong immunity to allergy so that he/she is not predisposed to allergy, asthma and other related respiratory ailments - sinusitis and rhinitis not withstanding the external triggers and allergens.

These herbals essentially strengthen the respiratory and immune system of the body at the same time effecting immediate short term relief.

Medications for asthma are prescribed for two different purposes. One is to halt an acute attack, and the other is to control inflammation and reduce lung damage over long term.

Quick relief ("rescue" medications) - needed promptly during a moderate or severe asthma attack, to open the airways. Long term disease control is necessary for those taking short-acting beta2 agonists more than twice a week.

Ephedra (Ephedra sinica), also called ma huang, has been used in Traditional Chinese medicine for more than 5,000 years. It is sometimes used to treat asthma, and synthetic ephedrine compounds, such as pseudoephedrine, are widely used in over-the-counter cold remedies. However, ephedra and its derivatives are potentially dangerous and addictive. Take only under close guidance and supervision of an appropriately trained specialist.

It is stomachic, Alterative and Diuretic. Alkaloid called 'Ephedrine' which helps in controlling asthma. It is widely used for acute muscular and Bronchial Asthma.

It is also used as a headache reliever. The main use of ephedra is in the treatment of asthma, particularly bronchial asthma. The powder of the herb in doses ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 grams should be swallowed with water in such symptoms. It will give immediate relief by facilitating unrestricted discharge of the accumulated phlegm and clearance of the air passage, followed by restful sleep.

Sida cordifolia which is also known as Country Mallow, containing herb contains ephedrine, has been used in India for over 2,000 years to treat bronchial asthma cold and flu, chills, lack of perspiration, headache, nasal congestion, aching joints and bones, cough & wheezing, and edema. In Western terms, Sida cordifolia is considered to have diaphoretic, diuretic, central nervous system stimulating and anti-asthmatic properties.

Sida cordifolia is an extract of the Sida cordifolia plant containing 0.8% to 1.2% of the alkaloid ephedrine.

It is considered to be one of the most valuable drugs in Ayurveda. It was used by ayurveda physicians as an antipyretic in febrile and infectious diseases, and also as an aphrodisiac.

It is used traditionally in ayurveda for a wide range of conditions, such as bleeding piles, facial paralysis, colic, tenesmus, heart disease, sexual debility, convalescence, sciatica, tinnitus, headache, chronic dysentry, hematuria, cystitis, leucorrhea, elephantiasis, wounds, weakness, emaciation, hemiplegia, neuralgia, gonorrhoea, insanity, frequent micturition, stiff neck, and external massage.

It is classified as a cooling, astringent, stomachic, tonic, bitter, febrifuge, demulcent capable of helping several nerve conditions, including inflammation. In Ayurvedic terminology, Bala is "Vata Pacifying."

Amalaki (emblica officinalis) is a nutritive tonic that acts on the circulatory, digestive and excretory systems. This fruit is the most concentrated natural source of Vitamin C. It assists natural internal cleansing and maintains regularity, nourishes and rejuvenates tissues, stimulates digestive fire without aggravating pitta, and removes excess pitta from the system. It is good for diabetes, haemorrhoids, constipation, gastritis, colitis and hepatitis. This is recommended in the period of rejuvenating the tissues of lungs affected by chronic recurrent attacks.

Arjuna (terminalia arjuna) is a cardiac stimulant and is rejuvenating. It is ayurveda's best herb for heart disease and angina and heals heart scar tissue after surgery.

In Ayurveda, the bark of arjuna is considered beneficial in the treatment of Asthma. According to this system, a fine powder of the bark is made and stored in a well-corked bottle.

The patient suffering from asthma should keep fast on the day of the full moon.

A dish of condensed milk and rice (kheer)should he prepared and placed where the moonlight falls upon it the whole night.

During the early hours, 12 grams of the powdered bark should be sprinkled over the kheer and taken by the patient to his satisfaction. He should not sleep for at least 12 hours after consumption, this is believed to provide relief.

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