Summer and skin: The sun is enemy as well as friend. Sun provides us with life itself, and with many of its pleasures. All most all skin cancers are the result of exposure to the ultraviolet radiation of the sun. Sunburn can strike more easily than you might think.

Fortunately, there are easy ways to protect you from the dangerous rays of the sun. Sun protection – minimizing exposure when the sun is at its peak, wearing protective clothing, including a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, using a sunscreen

Simple steps below to have fun in the sun and still protect yourself from sunburn and keep your skin healthy and young looking.

• Don’t forget the sunscreen
• If you are planning to be outdoors for any length of time, dress accordingly.
• Tanning salons are dangerous, too
• Moisturize
• Try to avoid running between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun’s intensity is at its greatest
• Wear a visor or hat with a brim – to give your face extra protection

Summer and hair: Summer sun, spiraling hot temperatures and related humidity may damage your hair’s cuticle resulting in dry, drab, split, brittle or frizzy hair

• Summer sun, spiraling hot temperatures and related humidity may damage your hair’s cuticle resulting in dry, drab, split, brittle or frizzy hair
• use a special UV protection for your hair
• get a good hat (wide-brimmed) if possible, or scarf that hides your hair
• Do not change the color of your hair when you are on vacation
• Put a deep conditioner in your hair as a barrier

Summer and diet: The risk of food borne illness increases during the summer when temperatures are warmer and people are more likely to be cooking outdoors.

• Do not drink very chilled liquids.
• Avoid caffeinated or carbonated beverages, alcoholic beverages, and those high in sugar.
• Water is the best option to quench thirst.
• Limit all strenuous activity.
• Minimize the intake of dried fruits.
• Avoid sugary foods
• Cut the intake of fried foods
• Maintain good hygiene levels.
• Include lots of fruits and vegetables

Summer Radiance – Summer and dress:

• Crucial rules on how to dress for summer, whether you’re on land, on sea, or traveling in between.
• Go flowery – They give you the feel of freshness and high inspiration
• Go for plain single color
• Don’t pack light. Pack smart.
• No socks with deck shoes. Bare ankles only,

Summer Radiance – Summer and eye care: Summers result in the development of many eye conditions such as conjunctivitis, sty, dry eyes and so on.

• Buy sunglasses with UV protection
• Wear sunglasses even when cloudy
• Wear larger style sunglasses
• Choose sunglasses with polarised lenses
• Maintain your glasses
• Keep hydrated
• The recommendation is to drin
• Avoid the midday sun
• Summer and travel tips
• Take The Time To Pack
• Skin creams, hairsprays, body lotion–all those products take up tons of space.
• Drink lots of water
• Pack Healthy Snacks
• Keep Your Clothes Clean

We recommend putting on sunscreen before you even put your bathing suit on, so you can make sure to cover your whole body,”

• Stay fresh
• Summer and beauty tips
• Get a glow on by exfoliating
• Protect your skin with a sunscreen with minimum 15 SPF.
• Stay on-trend with pink lipstick

Sun Protection

• Use sunscreen be careful of expiry date.
• Apply first coat of the sunscreen 20 minutes before going out in the sun and second coat of the sunscreen 20 minutes after going out in the sun.
• Reapply the sunscreen if you are out in the sun for a long time.
• Recoat the sunscreen after swimming or being in water.
• Try to do the heavy exercise in the cool hours like in the duration of 5-7 a.m.
• Use glasses to protect your eyes from the harmful U.V. rays.
• Infants under 6 month must be kept out of the sun.
• Sunrays can be equally hazardous in the cloudy day.

Summer Radiance – Summer Make-up Tips

• If you wear mascara, try a waterproof.
• A matte powder over foundation is better than heavy foundation lotions and creams that will look patchy once you sweat a little.
• Lips need protection, so it would be best to apply a lip gloss or lip balm
• Make sure you carry eye-make-up remover with you so that you avoid dark circle which can be a natural consequence of waterproof eye make-up.
• Pink is a shade that looks more natural in lipsticks in summer. A creamy lipstick will be friendlier on the lips than matte lipsticks and will also last longer.
• Nails are best kept short and practical at this time of the year. A lighter shade will save you the time in redoing your nails every now and then as the chips will not be obvious.
• Leave your foundation in the refrigerator. When you smooth it on, the heat from your face will melt it into your skin making it look like you have naturally perfect skin.
• Smudged eyeliner or kajal can look great on summer evenings and you can get this effect by heating the tip of your eye pencil with a lit match just before lining your eyes.
• Bright and dark shades of nail polish look better on feet in summer, especially if you plan on walking around barefoot or in open sandals.

Summer Radiance – Summertime can be great for your skin if you follow a few basic rules to take care of those areas that are most prone to damage—skin, hair and eyes. Keeping yourself adequately hydrated, adding essential nutrients to diet to avoid the heavier fats and proteins, taking plenty of vitamin C in the form of citrus fruits and juices, and getting the minimum 8 h of sleep can help you going through summer with good looks and great relaxation.

Dr. Chalapathy, Professor of General Surgery
Vydehi Hospital, Whitefield, Bangalore – 66
Ph: 080-28413381/2/3/4     www.vims.ac.in

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Tobacco use and smoking increases the risk of cancer. Smoking damages nearly every organ in the human body causing many diseases -especially it is linked to at least 10 different cancers.

India is the second largest global producer and third-largest consumer of tobacco and has more than 200 million tobacco users. Of these, nearly 17 million are under the age of 25. India accounts for nearly a third of an estimated three million tobacco-related deaths in the world (per year). WHO reports suggests that 65% of all Indian men use at least one form of tobacco. For women, the usage statistics differed from 15% in rural Gujarat to 67% in Andhra Pradesh.

India has one of the highest rates of oral cancer in the world and rates are still increasing. This disproportionate incidence of oral cancer has been related to the high proportion of tobacco chewers, a habit unique to Indians. Twenty percent of the total tobacco consumed in India is in the form of cigarettes, about 40% is in the form of bidis and the remaining 40% is consumed as smokeless tobacco (in the form of chewing tobacco, pan masala, snuff, gutkha, masheri and tobacco toothpaste).

More than 4,000 individual chemicals have been identified in tobacco and tobacco smoke. Among these are more than 60 chemicals that are known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). Some of the compounds found in tobacco smoke include ammonia, tar, and carbon monoxide. Nicotine is the addictive drug in tobacco. It is as addictive as heroin and cocaine. The body becomes physically and psychologically dependent on nicotine. In one regular cigarette, the amount of nicotine ranges between about 1 mg and 2 mg, an average dose for snuff is 3.6 mg, for chewing tobacco, 4.6 mg.

Smoking and cancer

Smoking damages nearly every organ in the human body causing many diseases. Smoking is linked to at least 10 different cancers.(Major cause: Cancers of the lung, larynx, oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, and bladder. Contributing cause: Cancers of the pancreas, cervix, kidney, stomach, and also some leukemias.)It accounts for some 30% of all cancer deaths. About 87% of lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking. The risk of having lung cancer and other smoking-related cancers is related to total lifetime exposure to cigarette smoke. This is measured by   number of cigarettes smoked each day, the age at which smoking began the number of years a person has smoked. There is no way to accurately calculate a person’s risk of getting cancer, but the more you smoke and the longer you do it, the greater your risk. Bidis have all of the same health risks of regular cigarettes.

Even though bidis contain less tobacco than regular cigarettes, they have higher levels of nicotine and other harmful substances such as tar and carbon monoxide.They are thinner than regular cigarettes, so they require about 3 times as many puffs per cigarette. They are also unfiltered. There is a belief that cigar smoking is more “civilized” and “glamorous,” as well as less dangerous than cigarette smoking.

But actual fact is a single large cigar can contain as much tobacco as an entire pack of cigarettes. Similarly hookahs are considered as safe alternative to cigarettes. But the water in hook has does not filter out many of the toxins. Hookah smoke has been shown to contain concentrations of toxins, such as carbon monoxide, nicotine, “tar,” and heavy metals, that are as high or higher than are seen with cigarette smoke.Hookah is also linked to other unique risks not associated with cigarette smoking like infectious diseases (including tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV)

Another important aspect which we should be aware of is secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) or passive smoke. It is a mixture of 2 forms of smoke from burning tobacco products, Side stream smoke that comes from the end of a lighted cigarette, pipe, or cigar and Mainstream smoke, smoke that is exhaled by a smoker. Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke absorb nicotine and other toxic chemicals just as smokers do. The greater the exposure to secondhand smoke, the greater the level of these harmful chemicals in your body. Three locations where you should be especially concerned about exposure to secondhand smoke are  Your workplace, Public places,Your home. In-fact making your home smoke-free is perhaps one of the most important things you can do for the health of your family.

USE OF SMOKELESS TOBACCO AND CANCER

The most serious health effect of smokeless tobacco is an increased risk of cancer of the mouth and pharynx. A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association calculated that smokeless tobacco users ,who chew 8-10 times a day might be exposed to the same amount of nicotine as people who smoke 30-40 cigarettes a day.”As health experts know that children started using smokeless tobacco six or seven years ago, they fear an epidemic of oral cancer will soon hit India. There are various reasons for this. Most people have no idea that consuming smokeless tobacco is as dangerous as smoking. They are often used in social gatherings.

Gutkha, does not say it contains tobacco.Packets of pan masala do bear health warnings, but they are rendered almost invisible by the bright shiny packaging and the small size of the warnings. Consequently, unlike smoking, which must be hidden from adults, children can openly consume pan masalas and many a times are introduced to this by elders in the family.

 CHILDREN AND TOBACCO

Children and teens are easy targets for the tobacco industry.Children are heavily influenced by TV, movies, advertising, and by what their friends do and say. But despite this parents can be THE GREATEST INFLUENCE in their kids’ lives. SO Keep Your Kids  away from Starting by setting you as an example. Talk directly to your children about the risks of tobacco use; if friends or relatives suffer with or died from tobacco-related illnesses, let your kids know.

 QUITING TOBACCO

Seventy percent of smokers want to quit and 35% attempt to quit each year, fewer than 5% succeed. The argument that it is too late to quit tobacco because the damage is already done is not true.It is never too late to quit

Dr.Geetha Narayan
Vydehi Hospital
Whitefield, Bengaluru-560066
ph:080-28413381/02/03

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The Burns Centre at Vydehi hospital is well equipped with all the modern facilities and state of the art facilities like well-trained personnel, intensive care unit, isolation wards and well equipped operation theatre.

Burns is one of the oldest scourges affecting mankind. Treatment of burns is one of the highly super specialized branches of plastic surgery. While setting up burns ward for the following points have to be kept in mind:

• Total aseptic precautions are to be followed in operation theatre and wards
• Dedicated personnel are involved
• Sophisticated systems are needed in treating and handling burns patients.

The earliest and  the most  common cause of death with large TBSA is due to problems due to inhalational injury. All patients with suspected inhalational injury should be intubated and managed by ventilator support.

The next two major causes are volume depletion and loss of temperature. IV fluids should be replaced immediately and at proper temperature. Hence a few blood and infusion warmers are needed so the IV can be started at proper temperature with minimum delay.

These cause death within the first two or three days after the accident. Even if the patient survives the first few days after the accident, he may still succumb due to infection and other related factors. Hence strict infection control is required.

The main causes of burns are

• Thermal burns
• Electrical burns
• Chemical burns
• Radiation burns

Nearly 70% of the burns victims are at village and taluka level because of improper cooking methods and illiteracy. Unfortunately most of the burns units are located in the city depriving a sizeable population from burns care and thus dipping the mortality rate.

In the city of Bangalore there are hardly any burns centers except the one at the Victoria hospital – located in the south of Bengaluru. In order to ease the problems of people in and around the Whitefield area and east and north-east of Bengaluru city and other rural areas the management of Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences was kind enough to start a Burns Centre at Vydehi hospital. The Burns Centre at Vydehi hospital is well equipped with all the modern facilities and state of the art facilities like well-trained personnel, intensive care unit, isolation wards and well equipped operation theatre.

General health: The public in Whitefield area and surrounding places may make use of the facilities at Vydehi Burns Centre whenever facilities for burns treatment are required. For details contact:

Dr.B.G.Tilak

Vydehi Hospital, Whitefield: o80-28413381/82/83/84

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What are the Remedies to stop Bed Wetting? in fact Bed-wetting or nocturnal enuresis,  is not a behavioural problem. Many children do feel embarrassed or ashamed by it.

 Causes of Bed Wetting

• Heredity: It is associated with certain genes. That is if one parent or both parents seem to have been faced with this problem in their childhood, then there are around 50% chances that their child will also be a bed wetter. However, the child usually stops at the same age that the parent did.
• Physical causes that increases the chances of bed-wetting
• Children with a small bladder than normal suffer from this problem.
• Problem in valve that controls the flow of urine from the Bladder.
• Urinary tract infections,
• Constipation exerts pressure on the Bladder.
• mental retardation and developmental disorders
• Neurological causes: In some children, the brain takes longer to develop voluntary control over certain bodily functions. Thus, a child may wet the bed because exercise control over the Bladder may yet not be achieved.
• External stress: Children who are stressed due to events such as moving to a new home, beginning school, conflict between parents, the arrival of a new child, being abused, etc are believed to be more likely to suffer from bed-wetting. In these cases, a child, who did not wet the bed at night, may have started doing so due to stress.

Remedies to stop Bed Wetting

• During the day, let your child hold the urine for a long time. This will encourage bladder control. This exercise may help her strengthen her bladder muscles.
• Plenty of fluid in-take during the day and only small quantities during night.
• Take her to the toilet to empty her bladder just before she sleeps
• Make sure that the baby is not stressed while going to bed
• Involve your child in daily activities like arranging bed, laundering the sheets.
• Do not make her very conscious of the fact that her bed wetting is a major problem for you. She may get disturbed and lose her sleep over it – causing some other kind of problems.
• Wake her up in a few hours and empty her bowels once or twice a night.
• Once she realizes how nice it is to feel dry and clean for a few days, she may get motivated to try a bit more on her own.
• A child already going through mental distress due to this problem should be rather comforted and reassured from your end that he is perfectly normal and that you both jointly will find a better way to deal with it.
• Child’s frequency of bed wetting may also increase with a sudden drop in temperature. So make sure  child is properly dressed and warm. Cover him with a blanket, if required.

Psychological Impact on Children

• Many children suffer from self esteem problem.
• They have feeling of failure and start to distinguish themselves from others.
• Feel guilty about their doing.
• They are teased by their own family members and sibling.
• They are afraid of their friends, as they don’t want their problem known to their friends.
• They feel bad as they cannot go for sleep over’s and overnight trips. Children who are unable to join in these gatherings may find themselves missing out on spending quality time with their peers or family.
• They are also sometimes subjected to punishments.

Dr.C.Dinakar ,Vydehi Hospital

Whitefield, Bangalore – 66
Ph: 080-28413381/2/3/4 www.vims.ac.in

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It is natural that when we are not well, we consult doctors.  Again it is customary that the doctor to help us recover from the illness prescribes you medicines.  In most of the cases the patients recover from the illness. However in a few patients they might encounter a new problem.  These new problems developing after starting with the medicines and suspected to be due to the medicines are called as side effects or adverse drug reactions (ADR). This article helps us to understand what we have to do to prevent problems arising out of adverse events arising due to drugs.

It is important to understand that side effects are different from adverse drug reactions. Side effects are simple unpleasant and unavoidable effects that medicines have on your body while treating your symptoms. A few examples are nausea, dizziness, or bleeding in your gastrointestinal (GI) tract which patient can experience when he is taking pain killers or antibiotics or slight drowsiness developing when he takes antihistamines (anti allergic drugs).

Adverse drug reactions (ADR):

WHO defines ADR as a response to a drug which is noxious and unintended, and which occurs at doses normally used in man for the prophylaxis, diagnosis, or therapy of disease, or for the modification of physiological function.  For our understanding here we shall not try to differentiate between the two and take it as a single entity. ADRs are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in health care. The Institute of Medicine reported in January 2000 that about 44,000 to 98,000 deaths occur annually from medical errors. Of this total, an estimated 7,000 deaths occur due to ADRs. To put this in perspective, consider that 6,000 Americans die each year from workplace injuries. In the US drugs are behind heart disease, cancer and strokes as the leading cause of death

In view of the poor reporting and data available in our country, it is difficult to estimate but certainly we need to put a much higher figure. The process of prescribing a medication is complex and includes the following steps: deciding that a drug is indicated to treat the illness; choosing the best drug; determining a dose and schedule appropriate for the patient’s physiologic status; monitoring for effectiveness and toxicity, educating the patient about expected side effects, and indications for seeking future consultation.  The misuse and consequences of adverse drug events can occur in any of the process listed above.

What factors cause adverse drug reaction?

ADRs are complex clinical problems that involve 3 key variables: the person; the drug; and the event. Each one of these factors has multiple aspects that could be involved in leading to an ADR. Let us discuss a few.

Patient related factors:

For the person: There are multiple variables to consider. For example, risk factors, such as Age, sex, illness, severity of illness, genetic predisposition to suffer drug reactions, comorbid features, poor renal or liver function, etc., may be involved.

1. As you age, body changes can affect the way medicines are absorbed and used. Changes in body weight and our gastro intestinal system can influence the amount of medicine you need to take and how long it stays in your body. The circulation system may slow down, which can affect how fast drugs get to the liver and kidneys. The liver and kidneys also may work more slowly affecting the way a drug breaks down and is removed from the body.  Because of these body changes, there is also a bigger risk of drug interactions for older adults.
2. More number of drugs increases the chances for more adverse drug reactions. It is not unusual to see patients taking more than 10 medicines in a day.  Studies have shown that the rate of ADRs increases exponentially after a patient is on 4 or more medications.
3. Drug-drug interactions happen when two or more medicines react with each other to cause unwanted effects. This kind of interaction can also cause one medicine to not work as well or even make one medicine stronger than it should be. For example, one should not take aspirin if you are taking a prescription blood thinner, such as Warfarin, unless your health care professional tells you to.
4. Drug-condition interactions happen when a medical condition you already have makes certain drugs potentially harmful. For example, if you have high blood pressure or asthma, you could have an unwanted reaction if you take a nasal decongestant.
5. Drug-food interactionsresult from drugs reacting with foods or drinks. Several drugs are known to interact with foods – the reduced absorption of tetracycline when taken with milk products; Dietary sources of vitamin K, such as spinach or broccoli, may increase the dosage requirement for warfarin. Grapefruit juice contains a bioflavonoid that inhibits CYP3A and thus blocks the metabolism of many drugs.
6. Drug-alcohol interactionscan happen when the medicine you take reacts with an alcoholic drink. For instance, mixing alcohol with some medicines may cause you to feel tired and slow your responses. Taking some medications like metronidazole can cause sometimes life threatening reactions.

Drug factors: the dosage of the drug given; etc. can all play a role in adverse drug reaction.

Some of the other factors related to drug implicated in causing ADR are

• Dosage, duration of use, known toxicity, timing of administration, and other variables may be involved.
• The metabolites of the drug after its chemical transformation;
• Alterations in any enzymes involved in drug metabolism;
• Genetic defects in some individuals leading to altered drug metabolism
• Missed dose: not taking drug as prescribed.
• Wrong technique: not taking the medicine as recommended. E.g. injection instead of tablet.
• Illegible order: not able to understand the medicine prescribed.
• Duplicate therapy: taking or giving medicines repeatedly.
• Drug-drug interaction.
• Inadequate monitoring.
• Preparation error.

For the event:  Nature and severity of the disease (e.g. Viral fevers, cancers etc.); new medical problems could play a role in causing more reactions. Pre-existing medical diseases: presence of diseases like liver diseases, kidney diseases, Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, viral infections, cardiac diseases, thyroid diseases, cancers, HIV infection etc. pre dispose the individual to more susceptibility to adverse drug reactions.

Who are more susceptible to develop ADRs?

Research has not yet identified any valid predictors to anticipate who will suffer from ADR and what medications will cause an ADR. Patient characteristics currently are not useful predictors of an ADR. No cause and effect relationship is known to exist between patients who suffer ADRs and age, comorbidity, or number of drugs received. However, ADRs are more likely to result in life-threatening consequences in intensive care unit (ICU) patients than in others.  Therefore it is essential and wise to move with the assumption that every patient who is taking a medicine is a potent candidate to suffer from adverse drug effects.

How to say when you have developed an ADR?

The following clinical features are suggestive of an ADR, especially if it occurs after taking a new drug:

• Skin rash
• Easy bruising.
• Bleeding
• Severe nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Confusion
• Breathing difficulties

What should be done if you suspect ADR?

Stop taking all the medications that you have started recently as newer drugs have more chance of causing ADRs.

Contact your physician either in person or by phone or mail etc. Explain to him about the situation and seek advice whether to continue with the medicines or not.  Follow his advice.

If the doctor cannot be contracted and if you perceive your condition alarming rush to a nearby physician or a hospital.  Explain the sequence of events properly and seek their advice.

What is the role of the patient when he is advised to take the medicine?

Though patients current knowledge level may not be uniform, it is essential that every patient should understand the following when is getting prescribed for medicines. Always understand clearly the instructions, and if you have any doubt do not hesitate to question the doctor.

1. Generic and brand names of the medication.Patients should know both the brand and generic names of each medication as it helps them identify their medications when a generic equivalent is substituted for a brand name version.
2. Purpose of the medication.Patients should understand what the therapeutic benefit of the medication will be, and the consequences of not taking the prescribed medication. For example, a patient may be more likely to take blood pressure medication if told lowering high blood pressure will prevent heart attack, kidney disease, or stroke, rather than saying only that it will lower blood pressure.
3. Dosage and how to take the medication. Patient must know how much of the medication to take and when to take it. Patient must also be informed of the best time to take the medication, for example, on an empty or a full stomach, before bedtime, or with or without other medications.
4. What to do if a dose is missed.Ask the doctor what should be done if he misses taking the dose.
5. Duration of therapy.It is not uncommon for patients to stop taking a medication either when they feel better or when they cannot perceive a benefit. Some patients need to understand that the medication needs to be taken for life long to help maintain the current level of wellness (e.g. Heart diseases, diabetes, Hypertension, Stroke etc). Some medications cannot be discontinued abruptly and patients should slowly and gradually taper the medicines dosage and then stop it. Take the clear instructions from the doctor.
6. Minor side effects and what to do if they occur.Always understand that all medications have potential side effects. Ask the doctor about any common and minor side effects and how to manage them if they occur. An informed patient is less likely to stop taking a medication because of a minor and potentially avoidable side effect.
7. Serious side effects and what to do if they occur.Though medicines itself may not be the cause of all fresh symptoms it is worthwhile to talk to the physician about it and take further instructions regarding the continuation of medicine and what to be done to alleviate the new symptoms.
8. Medications to avoid.Always inform the doctor about the medications you are already taking if any, as Drug-drug interactions can increase side effects, or even cause life-threatening adverse events such as cardiac dysrhythmias, hepatitis, renal failure, or internal bleeding.
9. Foods to avoid and other precautions.Food-drug interactions are not uncommon and can have effects similar to drug-drug interactions. Similarly other activities like Excessive sun exposure, affecting alertness or coordination etc. should be understood so as to avoid such activities.
10. How to store the medication:some medications must be stored properly to maintain potency. Discuss this with your doctor whether they need to be stored in refrigerators or in dark cabinets etc. In addition, thoughtful storage practices, such as separating two family members’ medications, can prevent mix-ups and inadvertent accessibility
11. Follow-up care.Whenever you are taking certain medications it requires monitoring to assess effectiveness and any side effects. Many medications require invasive and noninvasive testing to monitor blood levels; hematopoietic, hepatic, or renal function; or other effects on other body systems. The results may lead to dosage adjustments, change in medication, or discontinuation of medication. Follow the instructions carefully.
12. What not to take.Avoid taking expired medications or someone else’s medication as a substitute. Avoid taking medicine of ole prescription even if for similar complaints.
13. Finally make sure that you clearly understood what the doctor has explained to you. If required repeat all the instructions he has given.  Also if you have any difficulties in understanding ask questions and get your doubts clarified.  Making notes in your own language may also not be a bad idea.
14. Tell your team of health care professionals about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, such as pain relievers, antacids, cold medicines, and laxatives. Don’t forget to include eye drops, dietary supplements, vitamins, herbals, alternative medicines and even topical medicines, such as creams and ointments.
15. Tell your health care professional about your medical history. The doctor will want to know if you have any food, medicine, or other allergies. He or she also will want to know about other conditions you have or had and how you are being treated or were treated for them by other doctors.

Drugs will form the first line of defence in war against diseases.  And it will continue to be so.  The possibility of adverse drug reactions can never be eliminated as long as we are using drugs. The possibility of an adverse drug event (ADE) should always be borne in mind when evaluating any patient; any new symptom should be considered drug-related until proven otherwise.

Whenever the patient visits a doctor it is essential the issues of periodic review of current drug therapy; discontinuing unnecessary medications; considering safer alternative medications should be discussed.  Considering nonpharmacological alternative strategies like life style measures and alternate methods of non-drug therapies should be supplemented along with medications to help reduce the adverse effects of drugs.

Dr Bhanu Prakash
Professor, Dept. of Dermatology, Vydehi Hospital, Whitefield, Bangalore – 66
Ph: 080-28413381/2/3/4 www.vims.ac.in

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Bengaluru, 28 May 2017: Motherhood Hospitals in connotation with Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center held a 2 days National level conference “Neorespicon 2017” on 27^th and 28^th May 2017.  The aim of the conference was to explore new & advanced methods for management of respiratory illness in neonate babies & infants.

On the 1^st day of the workshop, Basic NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation Program), Advanced NRP and training on ventilator was arranged for over 100 nurses and 170 doctors from all over India at Motherhood Hospitals, Sarjapur Road. This is a first of its kind where above 500 paediatricians and neonatologist gathered from across India. Speaker and moderators were symbolised from all Indian states. This gave an exclusive blend of sharing regional and national acquaintance. It is for the first time significance of training doctors to contribute their services to needy hospitals were highlighted. This could be a game changer in refining public health sector.

Neonatal respiratory illness is the foremost cause of mortality and morbidity among Indian new born. Premature delivery, in utero infections, birth asphyxia are the foremost cause for the surging respiratory illness in neonatal in the pre-delivery phase. Also post-delivery, babies may have infections or there could be damage to the lung at the time of delivery. These also cause to respiratory illness for new born babies. Most of the infant mortality within 1 month of the delivery and much of it will be avoidable with proper care.

Talking on conference, Dr. Prashanth Gowda, Head of Department – Pediatrics and Neonatology, Motherhood Hospitals says, “Immediately from the birth, a baby’s lungs have to be sheltered. If not, forthcoming they may develop various types of breathing illness like Asthma, wheezing etc. If not taken care in the early stage, they may be easily vulnerable to the infections. This conference has unlocked lot of networks and ideas from the senior doctors and also from new practitioners”.

Respiratory problems in New-borns and Infants on the rise – In comparison to urban India, new-born disease rate due to respiratory illness is more in the rural regions. Lack of basic respiratory support and training to the doctors in village hospitals, are the being the main reason. In India to address this issue, there is a necessary of government and private association. Dr. Shalini Rajineesh, Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka has admonished the private hospital doctors to help government hospitals by visiting every month to address the lack of facilities and knowledge under the Pradhanmantri Matritva Surakhsha Yojana.

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