Hepatitis - Know Your Liver’s State Before it’s Too Late!

What is Hepatitis?

Hepatitis is an inflammatory disease of liver caused by viral infection and mainly include hepatitis A, B, C, D and E viruses. The type of virus infection can be distinguished on basis of their mode of transmission (contaminated water or food), epidemology, presentation, prevention & control. Hepatitis can be very dangerous and can even lead to death when left untreated (majorly in chronic hepatitis state). Our country along with many others throughout the world show presence of many hepatitis related cases and hence proper insight becomes essential. Every year, on 28th July World Hepatitis Day is celebrated in more than 100 countries worldwide; and this day helps us to realise and practice various awareness and preventive measures to combat with this liver bane!

Hepatitis Awareness - Why is it essential? 

Our liver is the most dynamic organ in our body having capability to take in all the toxins which may enter our body through medicines, consumption of alcohol, etc. Infact, it is so efficient that even 10% of its undamaged part can efficiently keep us going! When our liver is attacked with infections like Hepatitis, the symptoms may not be prominent in the beginning. And hence, utmost need to generate awareness about certain types like hepatitis B and C which can become chronic without showing any symptoms is essential. While hepatitis A is the milder version of the disease, hepatitis C and D infections are the most severe and dreaded ones. 

What are the major symptoms to look out for?

Most of the time, there are no noticeable symptoms in the first week of infection; however, in the later stages one may notice -

Feeling of fatigue

Nausea

Abdominal pain

Yellowing of skin or eyes

Unexplained weight loss

Mild fever 

How Is Hepatitis Diagnosed?

Diagnosis of any condition or disease is the first step in treating it. The good news is appropriate diagnosis of hepatitis can be achieved successfully in order to determine the presence of specific type of hepatitis infection. 

Physical examination:

Here, the doctor will check your abdomen for any tenderness and pain. Also, yellowing of eyes and skin if present, will also be analysed. 

Blood Tests:

Simple blood tests from a reputed diagnostic centre to detect the presence of antibodies against hepatitis virus and antigen to confirm it is important. Also, analyzing the health of the liver can shed light on the condition of the infected individual.

Liver Function Tests (LFT):

A most effective way of determining liver health is by analysing its efficiency in removal of toxins, unwanted proteins and enzymes from the blood. LFT includes determination of various enzymes that are produced by the liver. Hence, if the levels of its enzyme shoot up, it will indicate that the liver is damaged or stressed. 

Viral Antibody Testing:

Viral antibody testing is carried out in order to identify the type of hepatitis virus which is present. This is important, as it will aid selecting accurate treatment plan for the type.

Prevent hepatitis and save the trouble!

Here are few tips to protect our liver health: 

Avoid alcohol in order decrease the chances of damage to liver significantly

Drink only safe water tested from certified water testing laboratory as contaminated water is a major source for hepatitis infection spread

Avoid consumption of seafood which partially cooked as there are chances that viruses are not completed destroyed in such foods.

Consume only properly cooked food

Wash fruits and vegetables that eaten raw thoroughly using clean water  

Wash your hands with disinfectant or soap before consuming any food

Wash all your vessels and cloths in hot water using soap; also dry clothes in sunlight as it helps in killing germs and avoiding chances of any type of infections 

Do not use toothbrush, scissors, nail files, razors and needles which are already used.  

Avoid direct contact with wounds of infected individuals

Undergo routine preventive health checkup to detect any abnormalities if present

If you have any travel plans to countries where hepatitis is widespread, ensure to get yourself vaccinated

Be it hepatitis or any other infectious disease, proper awareness in knowing how to prevent it and adequate diagnosis on right time ensures adequate protection from them. On this World Hepatitis Day ensure you are aware how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe and protected from hepatitis!

Mission Dengue Free India : Stay Away from Dengue Fever

Introduction to Dengue :  

These days one will find patients suffering from Dengue everywhere. The hospitals beds are occupied with dengue patients. Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of a particular mosquito known as Aedes Aegypti. When a female mosquito bites the infected person it becomes vector for transferring of the virus and then, ingest virus into the next person. The dangerous part is symptoms can be seen only after 5-6 day of the mosquito bite. Also, diagnosis of this is possible from various diagnostic laboratories in India only after arrival of symptoms as till then patient is usually unaware of it. Shockingly, till now no medicine or antibiotic is known to cure the dengue fever which occurs in mild and severe fevers. The former type is known as break bone or classical dengue fever and the latter is known as Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF). 

More about Dengue Fever : 

Dengue fever lasts for about 7 to 10 days, with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headaches, severe joint and muscle pain, fatigue, skin rash, pain behind the eyes etc. It’s estimated that, annually around 390 million infections occur worldwide out of which nearly 96 million result in illness. Considering the seriousness of the outspread of dengue in India, Maharashtra state government has declared dengue as a “notified disease”. So, now health workers can conduct checkups in any premises and on top of that they do not need to have any permission for the same.  

Mission Dengue Free India : 

Can you recollect few health workers from BMC visited Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawala’s houses to find the presence of any open water-bodies which can be breeding sites of mosquito larvae. This time they are taking one step ahead, clinical management training has been given to around 2,800 health associates to prevent the increase in dengue cases. The state government would be distributing 1.10 lakh mosquito nets sent by the Central government. 

This year there were around 14,203 cases of dengue but only two deaths were reported. This indicates that mortality of dengue in Indian population has decreased significantly but, the number of people infected by dengue has increased remarkably. Hence, it’s important to improve our efforts to eradicate dengue by spreading awareness about their breeding sites and eradication of mosquitoes carrying the virus. Also, promoting Dengue vaccination in the population can efficiently prevent the onset of dengue fever as the body has already developed immunity against the virus. But, the most worrying fact is Governmental initiatives to stop dengue spread and keep disease in control have been proved to be poorly effective. So, now let’s pledge to support the Government by spreading awareness about prevention and protection form dengue by educating people about not to keep stagnant water open at their homes and wearing of full body covering clothes.  

Corporate Wellness : Invest in your Employee’s ‘Health’

In our day to day life we are so busy balancing everything from office, home and socializing with friends that we often end up ignoring our health. Somehow we try to put some efforts like jogging, exercising and engaging into a sport and make them a part of our routine but does it really happen?. What if we take efforts to maintain our wellness at workplace since, we spend majority of our time there. Just imaging, if you could spare a little time daily for your wellness at work then, you need not worry about dedicating an extra hour for workout. A lot of time could be saved and efficiency of your performance will automatically improve. 

Nowadays, many companies do organize corporate camps offering their employees preventive health checkup packages at discounted rates, helping them monitor their health and well being, indirectly ensuring increased productivity levels. Such practices of creating awareness about their health is beneficial for both employer and the employees. Due to this, popularity of employee fitness and wellness programs has shown tremendous rise. 

1st to 5th July is celebrated as ’Corporate Wellness’ Week so, grab this opportunity to lower your business costs by investing in your staff. If you need some ideas to promote employee wellness, here are a few innovative ways in which you can conduct corporate health and wellness programs. 

Social Networking : Believe it or not but social media plays a crucial role in engaging people these days. You can send them invites for attending health checkups camp or any special offers or packages you have for them. This can also be useful to create curiosity and spread awareness about the benefits of health checkup so that maximum employees become aware of it and attend the event. You can also conduct social media contests within the  organization on how crucial a preventive health check can be for every individual working for long hours continuously and can give away free preventive health services to winners. 

Technology : These days most companies have their own App offering a range of activities and services from logging in to booking food for canteen. One can also promote health care services with special discounts through their company App for their employees, Company website can be used to advertise along with different channels within the organization to engage maximum employees. 

Creativity : Come up with a unique strategy to promote and successfully run any healthcare initiatives in your company. While planing, keep in mind few short term and long term goals for the employee and the employer. If your purpose is to cater the healthcare needs based on any current widespread disease that is trending in the news then, chances are that maximum people may turn up for the event. 

Awareness : Only health checkup won’t be sufficient to maintain your employee wellness but it will have a cumulative effect due to their awareness about health problems, communication regarding them and encourage them to engage in some form of physical activity or even ‘Yoga’ in corporate. Conducting motivational health sessions addressing deleterious habits such as smoking, drinking, etc and encouraging them to quit could be life-changing for your employees. A lot of the simple issues and problems relating to improper postures and its effects for employees who are sedentary for long periods, can be solved by promoting ergonomics in office. 

So, irrespective of the brand, field or work flow of company, emphasis should be on health and wellness of every individual as, healthier the employee gets, wealthier the company will be.