pic source: www.uniqso.com

What are Extended Wear Contact Lenses?

Most contact lenses are supposed to be removed during the night. The reason? Contact lenses tend to reduce the oxygen to the cornea, which can result in an infection. If you would like to wear contact lenses continuously (day and night) , you can choose extended wear contact lenses. These contact lenses allow the supply of oxygen to cornea, as a result you can use the lenses continuously (24 hours a day) for a period of 7 days or more.

What are Extended Wear Contact Lenses?

Extended wear contact lenses can be worn continuously (day and night). They can be used for a period of 7 days. Some of them can also be used for 31 days (or 30 nights). 

After this period, these lenses can be disposed and replaced by a new pair of lens.

Extended wear contact lenses are made of silicone hydrogel. This material provides transmission of oxygen through the lens, and then to the cornea.

                                                                                                                pic source:uniqso.com

Problems with earlier contact lenses

In 1981, FDA had approved some contact lenses for continual wear. However, these lenses reduced the oxygen supply to the cornea.

When oxygen supply is reduced, the eye would be unable to fight the microorganisms.

This can increase the risk of eye infection. As a result, eye care specialists advised the patients to remove the lens before sleeping.

In contrast to the old lenses, the newer extended wear contact lenses are made of silicone hydrogel.

This material allows the supply of oxygen to cornea and is safe for continuous wear.

If you are interested in extended wear contact lenses, do consult your eye doctor for the lens which suit you. While some may be suitable for 7 day continual wear, others would be suitable for 31 day continual wear.

What is Microvascular Cranial Nerve Palsy Symptoms (MCNP)

In today's post let us understand, what is Cranial Nerve Palsy Symptoms and how it is diagnosed?

                                                                                    pic source: www.eyesurgeryinberkshire.co.uk

Cranial nerve palsy is a condition which involves one, two or more cranial nerves. Paralysis of a muscle generally leads to this problem. Cranial nerve palsies are quite easy to determine, as they involve the face muscle. Due to palsy, the face of the person also changes. A person affected with this, may find it troublesome to smile, control movements of the eye and other facial expressions.

From the brain, twelve pairs of cranial nerves are distributed to different areas of the face. These nerves run through holes present in the skull which are known as foramens. The cranial nerves controls the facial muscles, It is because of these facial muscles, people make various eye movements etc. A patient with cranial palsy, loses control over one or more muscles thus, leading to paralysis, drooping, or erratic uncontrolled movements

                                                                                        pic source: eyesurgeryinberkshire.co.uk

Causes of Cranial Nerve Palsy

There are many reasons for a person to cranial nerve palsy. Few of them are listed below.

a) Head or facial trauma is one of the cause, as this directly damages a nerve.

b) During a surgery, due to negligence, the cranial nerves can get damaged leading to cranial nerve palsy.

c) Some conditions for example, multiple sclerosis is also one of the causes of cranial nerve palsy as it damages the nerves. Other conditions are meningitis, diabetes, high BP etc.

Additionally, Following are the points causing defects in vision:

• Poor nutrition
• Working continuously for longer periods on system.
• Hormones.
• Excess stress may contribute to seborrheic belpharitis.
• Inadequate sitting positions while watching television.
• Bad settings of lights in the study room.

Treatment of Cranial Nerve Palsy

The treatment for Cranial nerve palsy relies on finding out the cause and approaching it. In a few cases, it is not possible to reverse the condition because of nerve damage. In a few other cases, the patient may regain muscle control. Seeking the help of a physical therapist helps the patient in gaining muscle control and developing coping skills. It is important to visit a neurologist very often to see the progression of the condition.

1) When there is a change in facial movements or expressions, consult a neurologist immediately.

2) Examinations are conducted to find out the damaged cranial nerve or nerves.

3) Make sure you provide the patients complete history, as even the smallest information is very important for the diagnosis.

What is Presbyopia (Age-related Long Sight) How to get treatment

Hi All, In todays post let us understand about Presbyopia, it causes, symptoms and treatments available.

What is Presbyopia?

When the eye lens looses the ability to focus, the condition is called as presbyopia. This condition makes it difficult for the person to see objects which are at arm’s distance.

                                                                    pic source: allaboutvision

What Causes Presbyopia?

Eye lenses have to change its shape and length in order to focus on small objects or on objects which are far or close by the lens. This ability of the eye lens is called elasticity. With the age, this ability of the lens is lost which decreases the ability of the eyes to see nearby objects. This is a normal part of aging process which affects almost everyone. Elderly people, who have crossed the age of 45 years, realize this condition when they have to hold their books little away from them, so that they can read the contents.

What are the Symptoms of Presbyopia?

There are three very specific symptoms of this condition:

• Disability to focus on nearby objects
• Eyestrain
• Headache

What are the tests done to examine this condition?

Doctors perform a detail eye examination, including lens measurement which determines the prescription for contact lenses and glasses.
Test includes:

• Thorough check-up of the retina
• Testing the muscle integrity of the eyes
• Eye refraction test
• Slit-lamp testing
• Visual acuity testing

What are the treatments for curing Presbyopia?

• Till date no treatment has cured this condition, but this can be corrected with contact lenses and eye glasses. In few cases, bifocals are placed to existing lenses, which is enough to correct the problem. But, as the age grows and the ability to focus the close object worsens, this bifocal placement needs to be changed.
• By the age of 65, the elasticity of the lens which is needed to focus the close objects is lost and it becomes more difficult to focus properly on close by objects. At the later stage of this condition, the patients have to hold books, papers and magazine farther away and need larger and light prints to read properly. People, who don’t have problem seeing distant objects, need not have to wear glasses. They may need half glasses which is also known as reading glasses. People having near sightedness may take off their glasses to read.
• Contact lenses are used which rectifies one eye for far and one eye for near vision. This is known as “mono vision”. This eliminates the requirement of bifocals and reading glasses, but it this affect depth perception. In some cases, mono vision is produced due to laser vision correction. There are bifocal eye lenses which can correct both far and near vision of both the eyes.
• There are certain new surgical procedures which provide solutions for patients who do not want glasses or contacts lenses.

Prognosis of Presbyopia

Vision problem can be rectified with contact lenses or glasses.

What are the possible complications associated with this condition?

If the vision is not corrected, condition gets worsen over the period of time. This causes problem with lifestyle, driving, reading, or work.

Can we prevent this ailment from occurring?

There are no confirmed or scientific methods to prevent this ailment. However, following few nutritious diets can help you overcome this problem during your young age itself. These nutritious diets should include:

• Eating fruits and vegetable rich in antioxidants and vitamin A.
• Drinking one glass of milk daily. It’s the full nutrition for your entire body.
• Leafy vegetables such as spinach should be included in your daily diet plan.
• An egg every day is a must. Make sure your having boiled eggs than fried ones.

Health, if taken care properly from right age, will give you a healthy old age!!!

Guidelines for home quarantine in India

Government of India 

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare 

Directorate General of Health Services 

(EMR Division) 

Guidelines for home quarantine 

Scope 

Detection of a travel related/unrelated suspect case of novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID19) will be followed by rapid isolation of such cases in designated health facilities and line listing of all contacts of such cases.Home quarantine is applicable to all such contacts of a suspect or confirmed case of COVID-19. 

This intervention will be limited to the initial phase of India reporting only (i) travel related cases and (ii) focal clusters arising from a travel related/unrelated case where cluster containment strategy is adopted (iii) Persons coming from COVID-19 affected areas where local and community transmission is evident. 

                                                                   Source: Business Standard

Definition of contact 

A contact is defined as a healthy person that has been in such association with aninfected person or a contaminated environment as to have exposed and is therefore at a higher risk of developing disease.

A contact in the context of COVID-19 is: 

• A person living in the same household as a COVID-19 case; 

• A person having had direct physical contact with a COVID-19 case or his/her infectious secretions without recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) or with a possible breach of PPE 

• A person who was in a closed environment or had face to face contact with a COVID-19 case at a distance of within1metre including air travel; 

The epidemiological link may have occurred within a 14‐day period before the onset of illness in the case under consideration. 

Instructions for contacts being home quarantined 

The home quarantined person should: 

Stay in a well-ventilated single-room preferably with an attached/separate toilet. If another family member needs to stay in the same room, it’s advisable to maintain a distance of at least 1 meter between the two. 

    • Needs to stay away from elderly people, pregnant women, children and persons with co-morbidities within the household.  

    • Restrict his/her movement within the house. 

    • Under no circumstances attend any social/religious gathering e.g. wedding, condolences, etc. 

                                                               Source: India.com

He should also follow the under mentioned public health measures at all times: 

    • Wash hand as often thoroughly with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizer 

    • Avoid sharing household items e.g. dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, bedding, or other items with other people at home. 

    • Wear a surgical mask at all the time. The mask should be changed every 6-8 hours and disposedoff. Disposable masks are never to be reused. 

    • Masks used by patients / care givers/ close contacts during home care should be disinfected using ordinary bleach solution (5%) or sodium hypochlorite solution (1%) and then disposed of either by burning or deep burial. 

    • Used mask should be considered as potentially infected. 

    • If symptoms appear (cough/fever/difficulty in breathing), he/she should immediately inform the nearest health centre or call 011-23978046. 

Source: Indian Express

Instructions for the family members of persons being home quarantined 

    • Only an assigned family member should be tasked with taking care of the such person • Avoid shaking the soiled linen or direct contact with skin 

    • Use disposable gloves when cleaning the surfaces or handling soiled linen 

    • Wash hands after removing gloves 

    • Visitors should not be allowed 

    • In case the person being quarantined becomes symptomatic, all his close contacts will be home quarantined (for 14 days) and followed up for an additional 14days or till the report of such case turns out negative on lab testing 

Environmental sanitation 

a) Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces in the quarantined person’s room (e.g. bed frames, tables etc.) daily with 1%Sodium Hypochlorite Solution. 

b) Clean and disinfect toilet surfaces daily with regular household bleach solution/phenolic disinfectants 

c) Clean the clothes and other linen used by the person separately using common household detergent and dry. 

Duration of home quarantine 

a) The home quarantine period is for 14 days from contact with a confirmed case or earlier if a suspect case (of whom the index person is a contact) turns out negative on laboratory testing

Importance of Yoga in Improving our Circulatory System

In todays post let us understand What is the Importance of Yoga in Improving our Circulatory System ?

To begin with let’s first understand the function of this system. Everyone is aware of the importance of the circulatory system and role played by it in our life. It is also known as the cardio vascular system and it comprises of the heart and the blood vessels. 

Heart pumps the blood which is carried to the different parts of our body by the blood vessels. The circulatory system comprises of two parts the blood system and the lymphatic system. 

The lymphatic system ensures that all the waste from the circulatory system is removed.

The blood system is helped by the heart which pumps the blood but the lymphatic system doesn’t have any organ which will help in flushing out the waste, the entire onus lies on the muscles which fulfils its task by the contraction and expansion

This is where yoga comes into play. The nutrients and oxygen are also transported to the different organs via the blood. Heart comprises of four chambers, the two auricles and two ventricles. Each of this auricle and ventricle has different roles to perform.

The right auricle collects the de-oxygenated blood and pumps it to the right ventricle which sent it to the lungs so that it becomes mixed with oxygen and gets oxygenated; from there it is brought back to the left auricle and pumped into the left ventricle and from there the arteries carry it to different parts of the body.

These arteries are thick walled and the main artery is referred to as aorta. The arteries branch into sub arteries which divide into thin walled capillaries.

The capillaries are the one which supply the oxy gen and nutrients to all the organs and in turn collect all the toxic waste from these organs and they are carried back to the heart through veins and the entire process is repeated.

When the blood is carried by the veins there is a fear of blood flowing back because of less pressure, hence the veins are provided with valves. Yoga is an ancient form of exercise which ensures our overall well being. Itb looks into our mental as well as our physical development. 

It comprises of breathing exercises accompanied by various postures which not only helps the heart to pump effectively but also it helps in strengthening the muscles. These exercises have been existing from time immemorial and it has stood the test of time. 

Over the years it has evolved according to the requirement of that particular generation. In yoga there are many postures and position which will enable you to make your muscles stronger so that it can function very efficiently in removing the waste from the blood, thus making sure that your body is healthy.

This in turn augments your immune system ensuring that you are able to with stand all the infections raiding your body. 

Yoga is a sure short way to healthy living; it improves your circulatory system by ensuring that the heart pumps the blood to all parts of the body efficiently and the muscles expand and contract effectively so as to enable the removal of all waste from the blood.

The breathing exercises also ensure that the intake of oxygen is very good and it is transported to all the organs which are able to function very efficiently. 

That is the main reason why pre-natal yoga is suggested to the pregnant ladies so that they are able to reap all the benefits. Without doubt one can say yoga plays a very important role in our circulatory system.

Thanks for reading, do let me know your comments