Dealing with Anesthetics

Anesthetics are the drugs that help you to reduce or take away the body sensations. Anesthesia helps to make a person unconscious and prevents sending any pain signals to the brain by blocking all the possible pathways. They work temporarily and are usually used during surgeries. An anesthetic specialist is used to give anesthesia to a patient and is referred as anesthetist. An anesthetist is a specialist, who knows the amount and requirement of anesthesia during different surgeries.

There are mainly two types of anesthesia. They are as follows:

• General Anesthesia: The general anesthesia makes the patient unconscious. This anesthesia is generally used while performing surgeries.

• Local Anesthesia: The local anesthesia is used to numb a part of the body. It is generally used while injecting to avoid pain.

Side Effects of Anesthesia:

The side effects of anesthesia usually occur for two to three hours or a couple of days. They often depend on the type of anesthesia given. The side effects also depend upon the age of the person and his medical history.

Following are some of the short-term side effects of anesthesia:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Blurred Vision
• Sore Throat
• Dizziness
• Mood Swings
• Unusual dreams

Following are some of the long-term side effects of anesthesia:

• Headache
• Stomach pain
• Black stool
• Vomiting
• Change in the urine output
• Yellowing of eyes and the skin
• Weakness

The long term side effects of anesthesia are rarely detected and are usually seen in aged patients.

Spinal Anesthesia:

Spinal anesthesia is a regional anesthesia and is used to inject into the spinal cord. It is often used during childbirth to numb the pelvic area. The main reason of using spinal anesthesia is to avoid complications and ensure maximum comfort level. However, there are small risks of complications like potential paralysis.

An honest talk with the anesthetist and the entire medical history of the patient helps to give accurate anesthesia or recommend some other alternative.

What Is Level of Consciousness

Normal level of consciousness is when a person is in a state of alertness, awareness or wakefulness. In such consciousness the person is not asleep or is in a level of sleep from where he can be easily awakened. The abnormal consciousness is difficult to characterize and may include altered state of consciousness like the following:

• Stupor: This condition causes to have reduced consciousness and sluggishness. He may have uncoordinated movements that may result in fall or injuries and he may still not be able to respond to the wound 

• Delirium: This is a neuropsychiatric syndrome and involves changes in arousal, cognitive deficit and psychotic features like, delusion or hallucination

• Locked in syndrome: This condition involves complete paralysis except for the parts controlling the eye movement. It is caused due to traumatic brain injury, medication overdose, disease that destroys myelin sheath around the nerve cells and diseases of circulatory system.

• Brain death: In such condition there is no spontaneous breathing and the brain of the patient is completely destroyed. He is kept alive on ventilator giving false hope to his family members.

• Lethargy: It is a state of severe drowsiness. The patient can be aroused by moderate stimuli but generally he again drifts back to sleep

• Coma: It is a state of deep unconsciousness that may last for an indefinite period of time. This usually occurs due to severe injury, accident or illness 

Altered level of consciousness includes conditions that are  normal, abnormal and paranormal in nature. Diagnosis of level of consciousness includes akinetic mutism, sleeping, pseudo coma, nonconvulsive status epilepticus etc. people may show altered level of consciousness due to reasons like, stroke, trauma and diabetes. In order to maintain normal level of consciousness both the cerebral hemispheres and brainstem have to be intact.

What is Venereal Disease

A person may get Venereal disease through sexual contact. It is caused by microorganisms that survive on the skin and are transmitted via vaginal secretion, semen or blood or fluid exchange during intercourse. The human genital areas provide a moist environment conducive for the growth of viruses and bacteria. These Venereal diseases are also known as Sexually Transmitted Diseases and are believed to be the primary reason behind HIV infection. Many of the venereal diseases are dermatological in nature and resemble various other skin ailments; hence detection of the same becomes difficult.

Venereal disease spread through unprotected sexual intercourse and unsterilized needles. Some people are reported to get infected with venereal disease through body fluid exchange with patients suffering from similar such diseas.

The symptoms of Venereal disease are first noticed around the genital area; however, they can easily spread to other main organs of the body. Most often the disease creates embarrassment for the patient as he becomes hesitant in approaching a doctor to get treated. However, every patient who wishes to receive a fruitful treatment must shed all inhibitions and consult a good doctor. The doctor upon putting the patient through some tests confirms the reason behind the ailment and accordingly begins the treatment.

Treatment of venereal disease may include use of antiviral drug or antibiotics. Timely treatment may reduce or cure the disease but the best way to prevent this disease is to take precautions during sexual intercourse and avoid casual sex. Those engaged in monogamous intercourse are less likely to get venereal disease than those who have multiple sexual partners. Even if the person has single partner he/she would be better positioned to counter such diseases if he practices safe sex. Unfortunately sexually transmitted diseases or venereal diseases are rampant amongst teenagers who are careless about taking precaution or using condoms. STD can also spread through bacteria or viruses that enter the body through tiny cuts, injuries or tears in the anus or mouth or genitals.

Who fall into the risk bracket?

• People who get sexually active at a younger age are at greater risk of getting a STD.

• People who have multiple sexual partners can also expose themselves to such deadly diseases

• People who do not use condom or precaution during intercourse are also at risk of contracting venereal disease

In case a person gets affected with venereal disease it is important to get immediate treatment in order to avoid further complications and embarrassment.  If a person suspects to have been infected with the disease, or has had unprotected sex with a stranger he/ she should immediately consult a doctor to avoid being attacked by any venereal disease.

Bowel Cancer Causes

Bowel Cancer Causes

Bowel cancer causes must be studied carefully as they are the prime factors that initiate growth of cancer cells and tumors in bowel or other nearby areas. causes of cancer are quite general in nature, but may not cause same impact to all the victims. Other factors like medical history and age also play an important part in deciding the intensity and impact of causes on a particular victim. 

Bowel Cancer Causes and Their Importance

Bowel cancer is a serious disease and may prevent a person from carrying his daily activities if the disorder reaches an advanced stage. It is the fourth-major form of cancer worldwide and is also a prime cause for many other cancers due to its tendency to metastasize rapidly. Bowel cancer is usually confused with cancer of the anus but both are different in nature though the causes and symptoms might be quite similar. Thus, thorough bowel cancer diagnosis is necessary to confirm the cancerous development in the region.

Bowel cancer can be of two basic types as primary and secondary. Primary bowel cancer is easier to tackle as the malignant cells originate in the bowel areas and restrict themselves to bowel region in the initial stages. Thus, detecting and identifying tumors becomes easier and this benefits immensely in initiating an apt bowel cancer treatment. Secondary form of the disorder is a cancerous development originating in some other organs or regions of the body and the tumors gradually increase their scope by spreading to other areas. Such tumors may also reach the bowel areas and cause severe infection in the region. Such tumors force the tissues in the area to malfunction and also cause cell abnormality. 

Bowel cancer causes depend mainly upon the immune system of the person. Some causes like those related to environment or concerned with previous medical history may not cause serious impact on the victim’s health if his internal body resistance is strong enough to fight such infections. Strong immune system also helps in optimum utilization of treatment. 

Bowel cancer causes leave their impact depending upon various factors. Age is one of the most important concerns related to the disease. The disorder targets mostly the adults and is more common in those beyond 50 years of age. Also, the chances of occurrence of bowel cancer are high in males as in comparison to females and occur in higher numbers in black people as compared to white race. 

Alcoholism, tobacco eating, and high consumption of red meat are some of the prime risk factors leading to severe cell abnormality in bowels. Benign polyps formed in the bowel areas that are not treated in time may lead to cancerous generation. Vitamin deficiency lowers the state of immune system and allows cancer cells to grow freely. Sufficient intake of Vitamin B lowers the chances of colorectal cancer. 

Obesity, diabetes, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and genetic causes including those arising from family history of bowel or other kinds of cancers may put a person at high risk.

Bowel cancer causes and their impact on the victim can be controlled if proper and active lifestyle along with healthy and hygienic diet is followed. One should also keep a check on his bowel habits and any problems in digestion of food should be discussed with a physician at the earliest.

What is First Aid and How helps it

First aid is a quick treatment given to the victim before he gets an appropriate and thorough treatment. First aid is usually given for the following reasons:

• To save the victim’s life

• To avoid further expansion of the injury

• To promote quick recovery

First aid is given by a non-expert but a trained person. They are specifically trained to understand the injury and give the initial treatments before the experts actually start their treatment. These people are usually seen in the medical vans or ambulances.

The First Aid Kit:

The first aid kit is a collection of basic medical equipments and important medicines. It is always recommended to have a first aid kit in the house to avoid any on-time casualties. Some of the basic and important contents of the first aid kit are as follows:

• Cotton swab: Used to clean the wounds and prevent blood flow

• Adhesive Bandages: They are used on small wounds to prevent dust and germs.

• Bandages: They are used while dressing to support any medical device

• Butterfly closure strips: They are used to close the wounds temporary till further treatment is received.

• Soap: It is used with water to clean the wound

• Antiseptic: It is used to avoid any infection in the wound

• Anti fungal cream: Used to prevent from infection and to heal the wound

• Gloves: They should be used by the one giving the first aid to avoid exchange of infection or germs.

• Scissors: Used to cut cloth bandages

• Thermometer: To check fever

• Aspirin: It is a life saving drug used to relieve from minor pains and to reduce fever.

• Paracetamol: It’s a painkiller and often included in the first aid kit

An advanced first aid kit may contain the following additional instruments:

• Stethoscope: It is used to check the heart beats of the patient.

• Blood Pressure checking unit: Used to check the blood pressure of the patient.

• Oropharyngeal airway: It helps the person to continue breathing.

• Nasopharyngeasl airway: Used to open the person’s breathing airway which helps him to breathe.

• Manual aspirator: They are used to remove mucus from the patient’s body.

• Bag valve mask: It provides positive pressure ventilation to the patient if he is unable to breathe.

Medical Questions:

While giving first aid, you will be asked many medical questions like the time of the accident, the place of injury, object by which you were injured etc. These questions help them to give you proper first aid. Your medical history will also be inquired prior to giving you any drugs or vaccines.

First aid helps to avoid any serious medical emergencies and help in quick recovery.