The common cold

What causes them?

There are more than 200 different viruses that cause colds and this is one of the reasons we get so many.
Top of the list are rhinoviruses, but coronaviruses, adenoviruses and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can all cause colds, too. So, just as your body develops immunity to one type of virus, another that you haven’t encountered before comes along and makes you ill.

How are colds spread?

You may have been taught that 'coughs and sneezes spread diseases', but colds aren't always passed on through airborne droplets or particles.
The most important way they're spread is via direct contact with an infected person. Typically, the person with the cold touches their nose or coughs on to their hand, leaving thousands of microscopic virus particles on their skin.
When they then touch an object such as a door handle, shopping trolley or another human, they leave the virus behind. The next person to touch the object takes the virus with them.
All that's needed to trigger a cold is a dozen or so virus particles. If the person who has picked up the cold virus touches their own nose or eyes, they deposit it in a warm, moist environment where it can thrive.
The virus particles are swept to the adenoids at the back of the throat, where they stick to the cells, invade them and reproduce. Eventually, the cells rupture, releasing thousands of new virus particles to spread to other cells.
This process is remarkably rapid – it takes just eight to 12 hours from the arrival of the virus in your body to release of new virus particles.
Symptoms also develop quickly – within about ten hours (this is known as the incubation period). So, in less than half a day of shaking hands with a person with a cold, you too could have all the unpleasant symptoms.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms are mostly caused by the body's reaction to the cold virus, which triggers the release of chemicals that make the blood vessels leaky and send the mucous glands into overtime.
As a result, the nasal passages become swollen and choked with secretions.
Cold symptoms reach their peak after 36 to 72 hours and include:

• Dry, scratchy sore throat (usually the first sign of a cold).
• Runny nose and sneezing.
• Hoarse voice.
• Blocked, snuffly nose.
• Cough.
• Mild headache.
• Mild fever.
• Generally feeling unwell or muzzy headed.

Symptoms should start to improve after three days and be gone after about seven days (but they may persist for up to two weeks).
As many as one in four people with a cold doesn't develop any symptoms, possibly because their immune system doesn't react to the virus in the usual way.
It's easy to confuse a cold with early flu, but in general flu is more severe and produces a higher fever (above 38oC) and more generalised symptoms throughout the body such as aching muscles, lethargy, shivers, nausea and vomiting.

What's the treatment?

Despite decades of research, there's no simple cure for colds. The antibiotics used against bacterial infections don't have any effect on viruses, and antiviral drugs used for other viral infections aren't useful against the viruses that cause colds.
Most colds resolve rapidly on their own, but there are things you can do to make symptoms less unpleasant.

• Keep well hydrated - being dehydrated can make a cold feel much worse, so drink at least eight glasses of clear fluid a day.
• Use a humidifier to stop central heating from drying out the mucous membranes lining your nose and upper airways.
• Treat nasal congestion using vapour rubs or taking decongestant drugs.
• Take simple analgesia such as paracetamol or ibuprofen regularly to keep on top of pain and fever.
• Cough mixtures may help to suppress a dry, tickly cough, while some, known as 'expectorants' help you to cough up excessive mucus.
• Try anaesthetic throat lozenges or gargle with salt water for a sore throat.
• Anti-histamines such as cetirizine may reduce the runny nose and sneezing but won't improve the cold overall.
• Get plenty of rest, and eat regularly to keep energy levels from flagging.

The benefits of vitamin C supplements for both the prevention and treatment of colds remains controversial.
A recent review of more than 30 studies showed that during periods of intense stress people can half their risk of catching a cold by taking vitamin C. But there's only a very minor effect on the duration and severity of symptoms once someone has the infection.
Some people argue that much higher doses of vitamin C need to be taken.
Many other treatments have been tested. Some, such as the herbal treatment echinacea, may be useful, but there isn't enough evidence yet to recommend these therapies. Inhaling steam has been used traditionally, often with menthol, but whilst anecdotally it helps some people, there is insufficient scientific evidence to assess its value.
Zinc has been shown to reduce the duration and severity of cold symptoms in healthy people if taken within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. In one study, Zinc supplements taken for at least five months were found to reduce the incidence of colds. However there is no standard recommendation about dose, formulation and duration of use.

What are the complications?

If symptoms persist for over 2 weeks, or if you are increasingly unwell, or develop breathing problems, see your doctor. Serious secondary infections, such as pneumonia, can follow, especially if you actually have flu rather than a cold. Although a cold can cause simple viral congestion of the nasal passages and symptoms of sinusitis, around one in 200 colds is complicated by a bacterial infection of the paranasal sinuses, which may need antibiotic or other treatment.
Among children, colds often lead to bacterial infections of the middle ear but this is much less common in adults.
Colds can also aggravate asthma and chronic bronchitis and in patients with these conditions the cold symptoms may last longer.

Keeping your cold to yourself

You're most contagious during the first three days of a cold, when you shed huge amounts of the virus from your nose.

• Avoid contact with other people.
• Wash your hands frequently.
• Avoid touching your nose and eyes.
• Use disposable tissues and bin used ones promptly.                                                       READMORE:http://www.bbc.co.uk/health

Colour blindness

What is colour blindness?

There are several forms of colour blindness. The most common form is red/green colour blindness, which involves the confusion of red and green. It's passed on through a faulty colour vision gene on an X chromosome as a recessive disorder, so shows up more commonly in men but often carried silently by women. It has two forms:

• Different shades of red appear dull and indistinct
• Greens, oranges, pale reds and browns all appear as the same hue, distinguished only by their intensity

In one rare form of colour blindness, blues and yellows can't be distinguished. In another, all colours are seen in black and white.
Vision itself isn't affected, only the ability to distinguish between certain colours.

The Ishihara test

There are many different Ishihara test plates with coloured dot patterns. In this one, the image on the right shows a background of green dots with two wavy lines made up of red and orange dots. If you're colour blind, you won't be able to see these colours and so you won't be able to pick out the pattern from the dots.
This is the most common test used to diagnose colour blindness, but there are others such as versions that uses one colour of dots to spell out numbers that can be read by someone with normal vision, while colour blind people only see a random pattern.

Causes and risk factors

The retina of the eye has colour-detecting vision cells, called cones, which are necessary to see colour properly. There are three types of cone cell, sensitive to red, blue, or green light. If one or more of these types of cells is faulty, then colour blindness results.
Sometimes colour blindness occurs because of diseases such as macular degeneration or from side effects of medicines.
Stop signsColour blindness needn't stop someone driving, because traffic lights can be distinguished by the position of the light. However, it can be an obstacle to particular careers where good colour vision is important, including pilots, electricians, train drivers and some jobs in the printing, fashion and design industries.
You can't stop colour blindness if it's inherited, but if it's caused by underlying eye disorders or medication then it can sometimes be treated and stopped.
If you have always been colour-blind, it isn't necessary to see a doctor unless other eye problems, for example blurred vision, are occurring. However if your vision has changed and you are noticing colour loss or changes you need to get your vision checked. It isn't necessary to see a doctor unless other eye problems, for example blurred vision, are occurring.

Treatment and recovery

As inherited forms of colour blindness are harmless, no treatment is needed, even if it were possible.
READMORE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/health

Carom Seeds & Health

Carom seeds are greatly used in our daily cooking not only to make our food taste good but also makes it digestible.Carom seeds have many other health benefits:

For Digestion:

1.Carom seeds help as an anti-bacterial to fight against bacteria in the digestive system.It helps to relieve excess gs from your body and in turn cure problems of your digestive tract like infections,acidity,diarrhea and flatulence.

For Weigth Loss:

2.Due to its effects in making your digestive system and so your metabolism work well, it helps reducing your weight naturally. Though the effect on reducing weight may take longer, you wont be having any side effects by taking ajwain or carom seeds in your daily diet.

For Asthma:

3.Carom seeds can be used in controlling occupational or work related asthma. Drinking carom water or mixture of ajwain&jaggery are commonly known home remedies to control asthma related breathing problems and chest congestions. Carom seeds are famously used in Ayurvedic treatments and medications.

For Toothache:

4.You can gargle carom water to get rid of your toothache. By adding salt in carom water, you can strengthen your weak gums and prevent further from toothache. Regular practice of gargling with carom water can keep the bacteria that causes toothache away from you.
Eat Healthy Stay Healthy :)

In Children

• Half a teaspoon of ajwain seeds boiled for a few minutes in 100 ml of water, administered with a little sugar to sweeten it can help bring out the phlegm in infants.
• Ajwain fried in oil and that oil applied to the stomach can take care of abdominal pains and colic in infants, which makes them cry out in pain.
• Due to constant hiccups, at times infants collect a lot of gas in their tummies, and this leads them to bawl in pain. Roasted ajwain place in a cloth or beetel leaf over the tummy helps in relieving their tummy ache and in the release of gas.
• Similarly ajwain seeds roasted and mixed in honey can be administered in tiny quantities can help alleviate cough in infants.
• Some mothers pin a spoonful of these carom seeds to the infant’s shirt, right next to the collar or just under the nose so that as the infant inhales the aroma of the ajwain, its cold and cough become a thing of the past.
• Depending on the age of those suffering from ailments, ajwain tea can be used to bring relief from stomach upsets, colds and cough.
• Dry roasted ajwain (to bring out the aroma) and place these in a cloth when they are still warm. Apply this to the chest area to cure asthma or relieve wheezing symptoms.

In Adults

• It is the first kitchen remedy for gastrointestinal problems for the average Indian. Every Indian mother keeps ajwain in her kitchen remedy box, along with dried ginger, cloves, mace and nutmeg.
• It is also used to stimulate appetite; and one of the best ways to manage an upset stomach or diarrhoea is by using a tea of ajwain.
• It is used for many types of abdominal problems and gastrointestinal disorders like bloated abdomen, diarrhoea, vomiting, and nausea.
• It is also very effective as a relief aid to toothache along with clove and clove oil.
• Carom seeds are also used to fight acidity and heartburn.
• Most Indians, especially in the South, would pop a few carom seeds with buttermilk to alleviate heartburn, along with a little hing before trying anything else.
• Ajwain seeds are also very effective against headaches and migraine attacks. The aroma of the powdered ajwain helps relieve the severity of migraines.
• The oil extracted from these carom seeds can help in pain relief in those suffering from arthritis, knee and joint pains, etc when applied topically as it has excellent therapeutic effects.
• They are also used in treating ear infections.

In everyday cooking it is usually used as tea to flavour rotis (breads), biscuits, cookies and other such bakery products and various typical Indian savouries from across the country. The oil is used to treat various problems topically like arthritis and joint pains, ear aches and teeth sensitivities.

If the carom seed oil called thymol is not available, then a few spoonfuls of carom seeds seeped in coconut oil can do the trick at a pinch. The oil can also be used as a sexual tonic. It can be used in different combinations to treat sexual disorders, improve endurance and promote sexual health in both young and old individuals. To cure gastric problems and colic in young children, a warm tea, sweetened and given to the infant two to three times after feeding is the best possible remed.

Black Papper & Health

The health benefits of black pepper include relief from respiratory disorders, cough, common cold, constipation, digestion, anemia, impotency, muscular strains, dental care, pyorrhea, diarrhea,andheartdisease.

Black pepper is the fruit of the black pepper plant from the Piperaceae family and is used as a spice and also as a medicine. The chemical piperine, present in black pepper, causes the spiciness. It is native to the southern state of India, Kerala. From ancient times, black pepper is one of the most widely traded spices in the world. It is not seasonal and is, therefore available throughout the year.
Because of its antibacterial properties, pepper is also used to preserve food. It is a source of manganese, iron, potassium, vitamin C and vitamin K and dietary fiber. Black pepper is a very good, anti-inflammatory agent.
The health benefits of black pepper include the following:

• Good for stomach: Pepper increases the hydrochloric acid secretion in stomach and thus, helps digestion. Proper digestion is essential to avoid diarrhea, constipation and colic. Pepper also helps to prevent formation of intestinal gas. Pepper-added diet promotes sweating and urination.
• Helps to lose weight: The outer layer of peppercorn assists in the breakdown of fat cells. Hence, peppery foods are a good way to help you shed weight.
• Good for skin: Pepper helps to cure Vitiligo, which is a skin disease that causes some areas of skin to lose its normal pigment and turn white. According to researchers in London, piperine contained in pepper can stimulate the skin to produce pigment. Topical treatment of piperine combined with ultra violet light therapy is much better than the other treatments for vitiligo. It also reduces the chances of skin cancer due to excess ultraviolet radiation.
• Relief for cough and cold: In Ayurveda pepper is added in tonics for cold and cough. Pepper gives relief from sinusitis and nasal congestion.
• The antibacterial property of black pepper helps to fight against infections, insect bites etc. Pepper added diet helps to keeping your arteries clean.
• Good antioxidant: An antioxidant, like pepper, can prevent or repair the damage caused by the free radicals and thus helps to prevent cancer, cardiovascular diseases and liver problems.
• Enhances bioavailability: Black pepper helps in transporting the benefits of other herbs to different parts of body.
• According to Ayurveda, black pepper also helps avoid ear-ache and gangrene. It is also good for conditions of hernia, hoarseness and insect bites. It relieves joint pain.
• It is a good treatment for respiratory conditions like asthma, whooping cough etc.
• It is used to treat conditions of tooth decay and toothache. In ancient times, pepper was also used to treat eye problems.

Preparing grounded pepper powder at home is better than buying ready-made pepper powder. But even home-made powder retains its freshness for only up to 3 months. Whole peppercorns can keep their freshness indefinitely.
Thus, adding a pinch of black pepper to every meal helps improve taste and digestion. It also improves your overall health and well being.
Precaution: Pepper may cause sneezing. Patients who’ve undergone abdominal surgery should not take pepper added diet because pepper has an irritating effect on the intestines. It is also not good for people with ulcers. Black pepper should not be taken in high concentration.