General Health Awareness

Anaemia

• Fatigue and weakness on account of deficiency of iron in the body in women during menstruation, pregnancy, child birth and lactation.
• Decreased absorption due to disorders in the digestive system.

• Headaches, weakness, fatigue,
• Breathlessness on exertion, palpitations,
• Poor concentration.
• Desire to eat sand and clay.
• Excessive menstrual bleeding.

Severe and prolonged iron deficiency leads to difficulty in swallowing, especially solids, in extreme cases also liquids - owing to thin membranous web in the lower part of the throat.

• Take iron tablets Cook in iron vessels. Eat bread, cereals, eggs and dry fruits.

Diarrhoea

Many stomach arid intestinal infections can cause stomach aches, sometimes with vomiting, sometimes with diarrhea, sometimes with both. Fever may or may not occur. Dehydration (excessive loss of water) is a common phenomenon during this period. Severe dehydration due to diarrhoea may even be fatal especially in children up to 3 years.

• Loose Motions
• Less urine production
• Sunken, shadowed arid dry eyes
• Dry arid parched lips and mouth

Take a spoonful of sugar arid half a spoon of salt mix it thoroughly in a glass of water. Serve the mixture to the ailing person repeatedly. This is commonly known as ORT.

Tuberculosis (TB)

TB is an infectious disease but is curable

• Cough for 3 weeks or more
• Fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, fever especially in the evenings

• Caused by a germ
• TB spreads when a patient with untreated pulmonary TB coughs or sneezes
• TB is completely curable and patients need not be hospitalized
• Treatment for TB is provided free of cost at all PHCs and Government hospitals. Medicines are also supplied free.

Malaria

Malaria is caused by the biting of malaria-infected mosquitoes. Malaria is a potentially life threatening parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. The affected person suffers from bouts of fever accompanied with shivering and cold sweats. The Malaria symptoms appear about 9 to 14 days after infectious mosquito bite.

Malaria in pregnancy poses a substantial risk to the mother, the foetus and the newborn infant, as pregnant women are less capable of coping with and clearing malaria infections.

Osteoporosis

It is a decrease in bone mass per unit volume that can occur as you get older. It is considered to be the major cause of bone fractures in older people especially post-menopausal women.

• Prolonged bed rest during serious illness, or whose daily activity is reduced by disorders such as arthritis or multiple sclerosis.
• Imbalance in the body's natural acidity, and too much aluminium hydroxide, a chemical used to treat ulcers, in the body can also be a cause.
• Taking oral contraceptives during the reproductive years can also slow the rate of bone loss.
• Women who smoke or have a close relative with osteoporosis are more likely to develop this disease.
• Too little calcium in the diet is another risk factor.

You may have no clear symptoms until a bone breaks except some physical changes. These physical changes, generally associated with aging, are in fact due to osteoporosis. They include:

• Gradual loss of height.
• Bending of the back (due to compression of the vertebra or fracture of the spine).

Usually after a minor stress or injury. Painful and spontaneous fractures occur in people with osteoporosis. The hip, arm, and wrist are common places for fractures.

• Eat a balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, throughout life.
• Expose yourself to sunlight.
• Consume milk regularly.
• Walk regularly.

Blindness and Causes

Blindness is the inability of a person to count fingers from a distance of 6 meters or 20 feet. Common causes of blindness are:

• Cataract: Opacity in the lens of the eye leading to gradual diminution of vision.
• Refractive Errors: Inability to see near or distant objects clearly.
• Corneal Opacity: Clouding of transparent portion in front of the eye.

• Cataract commonly occurs in old age. It may, however, affect young persons too. Cataract usually presents a gradual loss of vision in one or both eyes. This is age related and usually occurs after 50 years of age.

• Early symptoms of cataract may be blurring of near and distant objects.
• There is no headache, pain or redness of eyes. In the course of years, the eyesight is considerably affected and the patient finds it difficult to move about for his daily routine. A time comes when he can see only the light of a lamp or torch. This can happen when cataract gets matured. Untreated mature cataract may result in incurable blindness due to complications.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDS)

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) are diseases that can be transmitted through body contact during sex. This is an infection, which can be caught by having sexual contact with someone who is infected STDs can be easily passed onto sexual partners, and from a mother to her unborn Child

• Go to the Health Sub Centre or Primary Health Centre and talk to a doctor. Tell her or him everything about your problems.

• They may take a urine sample, a blood sample or a swab from the vagina or penis. Don't have sexual contact with anyone while you wait for the result of the test. Also do not have sexual contact with anyone if doctor confirms that you have STD. Take full treatment as advised by the doctor.

• Use Nirodh during sex. Other ways to reduce the risk include cleaning your hands and genital organs after having sex.

• Pain in lower abdomen (women)
• Painful urination (pain while passing urine)
• Unusual discharge from the vagina with foul smell
• Pain in the pelvic area
• Burning or itching around the vagina

• Ulcers at the lip of the penis or at the mouth of vagina.
• Pus discharge from penis.

Source: National Commission for Women